Dancehall star I-Octane has described himself as “an elite performer and one of the greatest artists Jamaica has ever seen”.
In response to questions from Television Jamaica’s Anthony Miller on where he fits into “the new dancehall in Jamaica.” poof it The artist explained that while he is the stuff of legends, he is in what he has termed “the real world”, unlike some elders in music, he encourages young artists who find themselves in the ” Internet world” make a name, not make it bad. ‘ or berate them for underperforming.
“But yuh haffi understands seh nuff yute, a dem belly dem a crawl pan. So it’s just a pain in the ass to know. Nuff yute weh yuh si pan stage, a dem best dem a do, and yuh can’t kill a man fi a do him best,” Octane said.
“Suh, not because I’m an elite performer and one of Jamaica’s greatest artists I’ve ever seen, dat nuh means see me, myself, guh, mock another…”, the wine and wobble Artist added.
According to I-Octane, he faced a barrage of criticism as a young artist in the business, not because he was weak as a performer, but because he was confident and strong on stage, and therefore empathizes with the young artists who do done have not solidified their stage performances.
“The generation before di yute dem, weh a cuss di yute dem, the same suh dem usually does to me. When I teck di chaallenge and see mi a guh close Sumfest, bare man inna di business before mi cuss mi see: ‘ihn jus hype, choo him sign to Digicel him a gwaan like a him a run di place’. And if I followed them, I would fail,” said Octane.
Regarding the expanded role of social media/internet in promoting Jamaican artists to the rest of the world, I-Octane said that while he does not dominate the internet space, his legendary status is undisputed and resides in the “real world”.
“Now listen: yuh si inna di real world, mi dope; mi a legend in the real world. Inna di internet world, with a new artiste; I’m still buss. Caw yuh haffi rebrand yourself into the internet world,” he said.
“The individual deh hurt break now; They were some of them who sorely gave the neva a chance by some prominent producers because they couldn’t sing and they couldn’t nuttn. Suh di yute dem now find a way, fi build some riddim, weh nuh, sound like dancehall and dem tune dem fren and dem become a sensation on the internet,” he added.
According to Octane, older artists like him must now try to master the craft of using the internet to further their music.
“Suh, we now as those who come before them learn Haffi dem ting deh. Caw weh di yute dem a do a some great ting dem a do. So, in the world of the internet, I’m a young artist. Mi nuh buss in the internet world. But in the real world, (I’m) Globe Boss,” he said.
As for “chappa” music, which is fairly dominant in the Jamaican musical landscape, the Clarendon native said he wouldn’t put down youngsters who chose that lyric to make a name for themselves in the music industry either.
“Mi caan falla some people an bash di yute dem bout chap songs, when yuh white collar crime bout yah a chap.” Look how many people take a missin from the bank account, eh? A dem only gets a slap on the wrist. And get three, four years and guh weh. Suh yuh got people doing what they do but yuh got di yute dem hurt singing about it,” he pointed out.
