Excitement as I-Octane and friends roll into Guys Hill High for school tour

KINGSTON, JAMAICA: From the moment I-Octane’s tour bus rolled in to the campus of Guy’s Hill High School in St Catherine on Tuesday April 12th, it was clear that this would be no ordinary day at that institution of learning. It was the official start of the artiste’s School Tour 2016 and what a blast it proved to be!

The entire school community at Guys Hill High – teachers, students, ancillary workers –   was treated to a balanced mix of uplifting and encouraging speeches from sponsors, along with giveaways and also top quality entertainment from the artistes. Included among the entertainers who were on hand to give I-Octane their full support were Tanto Blacks, Vybrant, Don Andre and StafaceKMT, Vershon, Charly B, Rhyming King, Shaniel Muir, Bingi Banks and  Bryka,.

The host was BaddaBling from Di Unit.

Among the sponsors who unhesitantly clambered on board this year are Digicel, Golden Eagle Stores, HEART Trust NTA, Di Unit, Eyeland Eyewear, Coke Lines Transportation, Conquer The Globe Productions, Good Good Productions, HYPE Tv, D’Wrap and the official online media partner, Riddim Don Magazine.

The students gave their undivided attention to HEART representative, Ms. Nerva Davis, who carefully outlined the many opportunities that are waiting at HEART Trust NTA for high school graduates. As a sign of the institution’s commitment to higher learning, the HEART Trust presented scholarships to the two top academic achievers at Guys Hill High School,  Legecia Angus and Josh Hemans.

Presenting a powerful and at times very personal message was Narada Hill, a representative from CSJP's Men with a Message, whose life journey was a testament to the fact that negativity can be turned into something positive. Hill gave the students much food for thought as he encouraged them to make the best use of their talents and their educational opportunities.

Satisfied that the goals of the major part of the school tour had been achieved, I-Octane and his team then focused on the ‘brawta’ - the giveaways and the entertainment. Digicel and Golden Eagle Stores, the two companies for which I-Octane proudly flies their flags as ambassador, proved to be very generous with credit giveaways, shoes and T-shirts, while entertaining the students with some really fun games. Good Good Production and Di Riddim Don Magazine awarded the two top academic achievers – male and female – with cash prizes, much to the delight of their peers.

All the entertainers gave exceptionally good accounts of themselves and the cheers from the student population could not have been any louder. Of course, the icing on the cake was the masterful closing performance from the man of the moment, I-Octane, whose happiness was contagious and spread throughout the entire Guys Hill community. Definitely ten out of ten. 

I-Octane Goes Back To School Again

With the huge success of last year’s inaugural school tour, reggae/dancehall heavyweight, I-Octane is ready for another parish hop, as he and his crew take a mini-tour across Jamaica to rap with, listen to and encourage the youth.

With that being said, we are now looking forward to I-Octane’s School Tour, Chapter 2. “Bringing Di Right Vibes To Di Yutes.” This year, the school tour has been brought forward by one month, in order to better facilitate the school calendar and give the artiste access to more students at each school.

“Last year, we did it in May because we didn’t realize that CSEC and CAPE exams actually started so early. A lot of the students, therefore, were unable to participate in the activities, so this year we are maximizing our opportunities by kicking off the tour on April 12,” manager Ray Alexander explained.

Four schools have been confirmed, namely Guy’s Hill High in Linstead, St. Catherine (April 12); Montego Bay High School, St. James (April 19); Brown's Town High School, St. Ann (April 26) and Garvey Maceo High School, Vernamfield, Clarendon (April 27). This year, I-Octane has invited on-the-rise entertainers Vershon and Jahmiel to accompany him on his mission.

Noting that the school tour was in fact one of his personal highlights for 2015 – a year which saw him reaping mega-success across the globe – the Digicel, Busta and Golden Eagle Shoes ambassador declared that he was “as excited as child on September morning”.

 “Sometimes it takes an experience such as this to bring you down to earth,” I-Octane admitted. “Going through the school gate and talking with the principal and the teachers, I somehow felt like a student again and that if I messed up ‘Miss’ would give me a detention or something,” the multi-award winning entertainer confessed with a laugh.

An enthusiastic I-Octane said he was happy that sponsors HEART Trust NTA, Digicel, Good Good Productions, Coke Line Transportation Service, and Conquer the Globe Productions, had come on board for a second year and extended a big welcome to newcomers Golden Eagle Shoes, Hype TV and riddim-donmagazine.com.

The sponsors have pledged their full support of the tour, with HEART again awarding scholarships to outstanding students at each of the four schools and other sponsors giving away cash prizes, gift baskets, phones and, of course phone credit to the youngsters.

I-Octane upbeat about studio, singles and UK concerts

Kingston, JAMAICA:- Reggae and dancehall ambassador, I-Octane, having hit the ground running since the start of the year, has accomplished much in the first quarter of 2016. New singles are burning up the airwaves, his very own recording studio has 

​​been completed and he is busy preparing for a number of shows, including an exciting concert series in the UK come May.

The artiste, who many times manages to dodge controversy by taking the high road, is using the same tactic, even as stones are being hurled at him over a controversial Good Good Production single, No Badda Dan Jah. For whatever reason, the line which says: 'Bwoy sell out him friend fi Mark-X' seems to have found a target that was never marked and has left some persons with a huge headache. An immensely popular tune on what is arguably the “baddest dancehall riddim around”, the Cure Pain, the song has become a staple for every session and as far as Octane is concerned, “everything correck”.

The music video, which is the entertainer’s first official one for the year, will have its Jamaica premiere this week and many are wondering if the singjay will use this occasion to dramatically ruffle some feathers.

“Actually that’s not my style. I try my best not to court controversy, but you know…there are persons who will always find something to complain about,” I-Octane said dismissively.

Emphasizing that he was singularly focused on his career, he added, “Right now, my team and I are focusing on the music and on doing some solid productions. My studio is finished and I am eager to get in there and start making music. As an artiste, I have a duty to give back and to record young artistes in the same way that producers recorded me when I was a no-name artiste. Also, it is time for me to start owning my masters. After 10 years of recording songs which I don’t own a percentage of, it is time for me to get really serious about that aspect of my career,” he explained.

In addition to No Badda Dan Jah, the singles No Shaky Link (Money Boss) and My Struggle, the second single from his upcoming DJ Frass-produced EP, are enjoying mega rotation and helping to chart his phenomenal path of success for this year.

Meanwhile, I-Octane is looking forward to a number of shows on his roster, including the Legends Of Reggae, which sees him rubbing shoulders with reggae legends Freddie McGregor, Marcia Griffiths and Junior Reid. The concert series is set for May 27 -29 in the cities of Bradford, Birmingham and London in the United Kingdom.