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His mother calls him Byoime Muir but the world will come to know him as I-Octane. Born and raised in the parish of Clarendon the home parish of reggae stalwarts Cocoa Tea, Everton Blender and Freddie McGregor, the 22 year old Reggae artiste has indeed follow suit of those before him as he consistently releases a string of authentic Reggae singles.
Now in heavy rotation on all major radio stations in Jamaica, I-Octane’s ‘Mama you alone’ single is a depiction of a typical Jamaican mother’s struggle. As seen through the eyes of an older sibling, Octane tells the story of a hustling mother whose occupation is that of a market vendor and her daily struggle to support her family. As he highlights some of the effects of the condition under which she is forced to survive, he metaphorically describes the mental and physical scars inflicted upon her through her struggles, he reflects “loads from mama’s basket strains her neck and now it mark it” and continues, “its rough because she talk it” and of her journey, “bare feet at times but she walk it”.
Some of the heart felt issues described in this song significantly brings to life the taught pattern of an older sibling, understanding his mother’s daily plight, gladly takes on the responsibilities left at home, he ‘washes the dishes, sweeps the yard, take care of his younger siblings and spread the bed’. Now interestingly, throughout all this he questions his father’s disappearance, “daddy why you fail?” and concludes that his father “leaves us like Jonas in the belly of the whale”. But a Mothers love always prevails and her words triumph as he remembers “mama’s words of wisdom fresh like bread weh never stale”.
“Mama you alone” is good literature, self expression and good music. It is an experience many mothers can relate to and a life that gave birth, to many successful Jamaican children. In light of all her disadvantages ‘mama’ manages her family, “No she nuh have it but we still a get we sweetie and we chocolate”. Many inner city children of this island Jamaica lives through the oppression daily and is optimistic, hence the success of the Asafa Powel and Usain Bolt’s of our society. On Mothers Day, let us reflect on ‘Mama you alone’ and remember those whose struggles seems endless, let us offer our support however we can to those whom we know.
- New Image Promotions
Discography
Mama you alone, Loose a friend, Different Page, Work, Gun Rise, Stab Vampire, Sow Life Seeds, Run Yet, Push On, Poverty, Run Yet, Push On, Poverty, Nuh Frighten We, Gun Rise, Loose A Friend, Mama You Alone
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Bio
I-OCTANE
BIOGRAPHY
Over the years the parish of Clarendon on the island of Jamaica has produced a long list of outstanding Reggae artistes namely; Everton Blender, Coco Tea, Freddie McGregor and Derrick Morgan. Today we see another young, vibrant and unique Reggae artiste emerge from this very parish, his mother calls him Byiome Muir, an African name which means strong, but the world will come to know him as I-Octane.
The self named Reggae artiste has a vision and that is to create music that motivates, inspire and restore the mind to a path of growth, development and purpose. The 22-year-old grew up in Sandy Bay where he attended Palmers Cross All-Age and Garvey Maceo High Schools respectively. After High school, he enrolled into Knox Community College to pursue a career in architecture but that didnt work as he planned. Although he excelled in the sciences at school, the addictive beat of the sweet reggae music was a major distraction for him. At Knox, he became popular for his spit-fire lyrics fitting for any occasion and was a regular feature on concerts and barbecues.
Encouraged by his friends to take his talent more seriously he gave a scorching performance at a concert held in his home parish in Sandy Bay, after which he was approached by a producer who convinced him to get into the business. He gave this some serious thought and made some inquiries for himself before giving in to his gut feeling of making music a lifetime career. His first objective was to find a suitable name for himself, a name that represented his high energy performance and consistency and he fell in love with a slogan from an ad used by a major company in Jamaica to promote its gasoline product, high octane. Its concept suited him well so he made a few changes and came up with the name I-Octane.
I-Octane then set out on his mission, performing at more barbecues and small stage shows as well as took the necessary steps to ensure he gets his voice recorded in studios. As fate would have it, a friend introduced him to Donovan Germaine of Penthouse Records, who then managed Buju Banton and Assassin. This was in the year 2000 he recorded Oh Jah, Stepp A Seed and Love In The streets with Beres Hammond, Buju Banton and Assassin on the Penthouse Label. His experience working with them was a stepping stone early in his career and it turned out to be a morale booster. On his trod, I-Octane met Junior Arrows through a friend of his, Arrows was interested in signing the artiste and he jumped at the opportunity to have a Record Label managing his career. Working with Arrows Record Label has honed his skills as he developed more confidence and stronger and better vocals, which contributes to his ability to give a resounding stage performance at all time.
I-Octane was ready to perform at major events, the opportunity presented itself and he performed at the first staging of the Beenie Man produced Summer Sizzle event to a massive crowd of over twenty thousand people, he represented himself well and stamped his name in the business. Since then, he has performed on basically all major events held in Jamaica to date including Reggae Sumfest, Rebel Salute, Fullyloaded and STING. His music is quickly spreading across all boundaries where Reggae music is loved and appreciated. Some of his more popular and current singles are Different Page, Stab Vampire, Nuh Frighten We, Gun Rise, Poverty, Mama You Alone and Hurt Mi. I-Octane is energy that knows no bound, high energy, high performance
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