I-Octane and Khago Claim Credit For Breaking Vybz Kartel And Mavado’s Vice Grip On Dancehall.
Dancehall musicians I-Octane and Khago have stated that newer artists should thank them for shattering what appeared to be Mavado and Vybz Kartel’s unshakable supremacy in the early to mid-2010s.
“All dem young artists dem weh buss afta me enuh fi give mi tribute. “Dem owe me… and I’m not even pumped about it,” I-Octane said in an interview with Veteran Entertainment Journalist Anthony Miller on Television Jamaica’s The Entertainment Report.
“What exactly do I owe you?” Miller responded.
“Den noh me buss Gaza a Gully. “A me break it mek di yute dem make a career concerning yah,” Octane said.
“Khago owe you too?” Miller joked, to which Octane chuckled and answered, “Bwoy a different tale dat.”
In an Instagram Live on Friday, Khago expressed similar feelings, crediting Octane, along with himself and Tommy Lee Sparta, for paving the way for new musicians to flourish in the mid-2000s, thereby shattering the Gully-Gaza vice-grip over Dancehall.
“I-Octane is my grandpa, I’m my father, and Tommy Lee (Sparta) is my uncle. “A dem three artists yah mashup the Gully and Gaza stuff and put it fi unno,” Khago explained.
Khago, actual name Ricardo Gayle, rose to attention in 2006 after entering the Festival Song competition with his song Only If You Know. He is most known for songs like Nah Sell Out (2011), Tun Up Di Ting (2008), and Caan Cool (2009).
I-Octane made national news with his run of songs advocating conscious themes following his appearance at Reggae Sumfest in Montego Bay in 2011, when he performed the unimaginable by “stealing the show,” relegating Mavado and Vybz Kartel to mere mentions.
The estimated 20,000 people inside the Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex greeted him with a storm of firecrackers, horns, and whistles.
Octane played a host of singles throughout the concert, including Cyaan Ramp Wid Man, Badda Dan Dem, Mama, You Alone, My Life, Study You Friend Dem, and Puff It, before concluding with Lose A Friend.
During the discussion with Miller, I-Octane also addressed claims that during his 2023 Rebel Salute performance, he imitated Jahshii’s performances at Rebel Salute and Valiant (at Sting) by going down into the heart of the audience.
“An meck mi meck clarity. Check out my performance; a me invent it for everybody who has seen me falla artiste a guh inna di crowd. “A me guh carry drum pan pan mi head and guh inna mob,” he explained.
I-Octane first appeared on the Dancehall music scene in 2007 with his one-drop hit tune Stab Vampire, which reached the top 10 of various local charts.
At the height of his Gully-Gaza dominance in 2009, he topped the charts with Mama You Alone and Lose A Friend.
Following that, the Clarendon native expanded his Dancehall rule with a string of singles produced by Cashflow Records, including No Love Inna Dem and Puff It. In 2013, he returned to the top of the charts with the DJ Frass-produced My Life.
Crying To The Nation, I-debut Octane’s album, was released in February 2012 through Robert Livingston’s Scikron Entertainment in the Caribbean and VP Records elsewhere. The first song from Crying To The Nation was the lovers rock L.O.V.E. Y.O.U., which charted well in Jamaica and was widely promoted to worldwide audiences.
Following the release of the album, I-Octane went on tour in the United States, Canada, and Europe, and later in the year released a string of successful songs, including Badmind Dem A Pree, a collaboration with Bounty Killer and Love Di Vibes, and Gal A Gimmi Bun on producer Seanizzle’s One Day riddim.
Tad’s International Records label published his second album, My Journey, in March 2014. Love and Life was launched in 2018, Moods in 2021, and I Am Great last year.
