“That’s lit,” French-British rapper Octavian has become the first rapper to take out BBC’s coveted Sounds Of award since 50-Cent in 2003.
He beat lauded pop singer King Princess to taking out the top prize, that previously has gone to Adele, Haim and Sam Smith.
136 key industry figures (including three ex-comp winners) were tasked with selecting a winner.
“From the very first moment I heard his music I was hooked,” comments Benji B, one of the selectors. He adds, “The first couple of tunes he released – Party Here and Hands – were some of the most futuristic, forward thinking, raw and inspiring tunes to come out of the UK in the last two years.”.
Octavian is at a career-topping point, though getting there wasn’t so easy. The artist spent his teenage years homeless, after being kicked out of school. He later thrown out of his family home. “A year ago I was poor, I had no money,” he told the BBC. “But I was never depressed. I was never in the mode to give up. Around me it was bad, but I kept motivated.”
Among the music critics was Anna Karatziva, head of talent and music at MTV UK. She referred to Octavian as “a unique and exciting talent with an incredible vision and passion”.
On winning the Sound of 2019, he comments: “If I can get this, I can get anything. 2019 is going to be a great year.”
