It’s only been a year since Kenyan Hip Hop artist Henry ‘Octopizzo’ Ohanga released his studio album Jungle Fever and it would seem that a follow up is already around the corner.
In the past few days, the Kibera native has added the tag “Album Mode #OTW (on the way)” to his posts; a contemporary way of artists preparing their fans for an upcoming album.
Given Octo’s evolution as an artist over the years, it will be interesting to see what he has to offer in his next project.
Since his earliest releases like The Come Up Vol.1, the rapper has proved to be an outstanding lyricist in Kenyan rap.
As the rapper cracked the mainstream industry in the early 2010s, his confidence grew and he ended up with game-changing Kenyan Hip Hop songs like On Top and Ivo Ivo.
Octopizzo has the bars!
Lines like “…walibuy Subaru wakidhani wataacha legacy,” and “…face to face ka Abel na Cain, ama one on one ka undertaker na Kane” will forever remain pinned in our heads.
Kenyan rapper Octopizzo
Kenyan rapper Octopizzo
“Kuna lyrical prowess, yenye wasee hawana cause in hip hop you stand out ju ya (lyricism), people don’t use metaphors, people don’t use punchlines. So that’s what I want to use to stand out,” the Don Papichulo said during a 2011 interview while he was speaking on his album – Chocolate City.
For a successful man who was once a broke young dude from the largest slum in Africa, it must be fulfilling for him to directly manifest the growth in his music.
Coming from dedicating his Chocolate City album to his childhood dwelling, Kibera, the Oliel rapper went on to express African culture as a whole in his latest album, Jungle Fever which was released in 2020.
Octopizzo
Octopizzo
Jungle Fever followed up 2018’s Next Year, which saw Octo seamlessly switch to new school trap beats and flow while still upholding his song-writing standards.
“The new album is called Jungle Fever which is an oxymoron for a lot of things. With this new album, I wanted to give people a different perspective of what Africa is, or who a Kenyan person is like. It’s not a Kenyan album, it’s like an African contemporary story like what we want everybody to hear,” Octo said in a statement about the Jungle Fever album.
Pockets by Octopizzo
As Octo continues to cook up the forthcoming body of work, it will be extremely interesting to hear what the Namba Nane rapper has in mind.
With everything that’s going on, from police brutality to the upcoming elections, Octo might have a lot to share about these social issues.
Octopizzo
Octopizzo
“You know sometimes we do music because of pressure and what the fans want. And then all the time artists actually fall victim to that. I’m in a place where I’m creating my own,” Octo revealed while explaining his state of creativity at the moment.
Thus far, Octopizzo has released Pockets, a single that has been doing decent numbers on music platforms.
It will be interesting to see if the single will feature on the forthcoming album whose title is yet to be announced.
Pulse Contributor Timothy Mwachia
Pulse Contributor Timothy Mwachia
The foregoing is an Opinion Article submitted to Pulse Live Kenya for publication as part of the Pulse Contributors initiative.
Pulse Contributors is an initiative to highlight diverse journalistic voices. Pulse Contributors do not represent the company Pulse and contribute on their own behalf.
Should you wish to submit an Article to Pulse, do so via contributors@pulse.co.ke.
Timothy Mwachia is a young journalist interested in writing about entertainment and lifestyle. He has contributed news articles at Daily Rap Facts and The Dope Way and he’s obsessed with knowledge – “I’ve got a thing for watching documentaries, reading and writing,” he says.
BY PULSE KENYA