Artist Spotlight: Octavia Harris

Now hit Play.  Upon hearing the hip-hop beats, and lyrical stylings of this uniquely gifted, unsigned artist, the listener might find themselves wondering “if THIS girl can’t get a recording contract in this genre, who can?”  The words flow from her rap the way traffic comes out of a bottleneck.  There is so much force pent up, that when an opening is exposed, there is no stopping the onrush of poetic magic.  It’s akin to hearing Eminem as a female impersonator.  The energy is amazing!
Stop again.  You need some background.  Octavia has been rapping, performing, and producing music since she was a child.  She made a splash on the independent rap circuit in both Oregon and California, quickly developing herself into a hot property on each scene.  She has seen moderate success with past solo projects, appearances on film soundtracks, and even has credits on DVD and video games.  All the while, though, Harris hadn’t found her true calling.  She changed monikers even more than she changed hometowns – Baby D, 151, Octavia the Mic Strangla, and Jymini (pronounced like Gemini) – seemingly searching for an identity.  Then, according to her website, a little less than two years ago the highlight of her life occurred when she gave her life fully to Jesus Christ!

“I’ve known God all my life,” she writes on her MySpace page, “(but) I was not serving Him with my whole heart.  But Praise God, I picked up my cross in July 2005, and my life hasn’t been the same (since).”
Resume Play.  Having laid claim to God’s gift, she retired the rap nicknames and is now modestly, simply Octavia Harris.  Her music, though, is anything but simplistic, and she uses it to talk about her life change.  In her song “Make U a Star” she raps “He took a chick that was average and made her a queen, He took my dirty, filthy past and made it clean.”  Seeing the words in print, however, doesn’t do her songs any justice.  When put to the funk and groove of her sound, though, they could immediately be elevated into the upper echelons of Christian rap. 
Her vast experience is evident in all aspects of her music, but her rhymes and hooks are exceptionally outstanding.  Her words and form, combined with the blatant message behind them, are what could make Octavia Harris stand out in the Christian hip-hop world.
 
Stop.  You need to understand some history.  Rap music and Christianity have suffered an unstable relationship since the pioneers began trying to carve out this niche.  Anyone remember Stephen Wiley or D-Boy Rodriguez?  These were the early Christian rappers trying to crossover the new music into Gospel.  Mainstream rap has always been at least partially known for its dark edge and controversial topics.  Trying to mesh that style with a positive and evangelistic mindset was a struggle in the early days.  Christian rap often came across as fake or elementary… even worse, “cheesy.”  Go back and listen to dcTalk’s “Heavenbound” from 1989 and try to suppress your giggles.  As the genre has grown and matured, however, some Christian artists have developed a real gift at finding the balance in delivering God’s Word through serious rap funk (T-Bone, and dcTalk’s Toby Mac to name a few).  Christian rap has been legitimized.

Back to Octavia Harris.  Another Christian rapper with true talent.  And female!  Different.  Octavia has the grit and edge required by the style, and her message is uncompromised.  Her words are ready to make a difference.  Without any hint of the “low-budget” production that marred the efforts of early Christian rap, her work is ready for the masses. 
So, resume Play.  Listen to the many topics and struggles she covers, and how she unashamedly faces the vast pitfalls in society.  “They Still Yours” implores absentee fathers to take responsibility for their actions, while “Brothers in Christ” praises and encourages men of integrity.  “Slippin Slippin Slippin Slippin” is a song dealing with everyday temptations and backsliding, and another song delves into the scars and pains brought on by drugs and alcohol.  It reminds those struggling with substance abuse that “walkin’ with the Lord is the Ultimate High.”  In a short transition tune, “One I Love”, Octavia sings a message directed at women, urging them to save themselves for marriage.

Octavia displays more than just wisdom toward sensitive subjects.  “Watch These Moves” is just a song about going dancing, yet she still gets her faith into the mix (“even when I’m dancin’, I’m givin’ Him praise, if it wasn’t for the Lord I couldn’t get through the day”).  “Fiyah!” is a great rock/rap song that is quickly “burned” into the brain of the listener and could easily be successful on mainstream radio.  And sometimes Harris is just witty – from “N2Existence” she raps “I’m down with my Savior, like Puff with Bigg”.  Through and through, the recordings of Octavia Harris come across like a record company’s big summer release.
 
Stop the music one more time.  The road for Octavia Harris has been long, but many are anxious to see what God holds in store for her next.  When asked about all she has faced throughout her life, Harris told The Christian Pulse, “Just being a follower of Christ is costly; however, the benefits outweigh the opposition that comes.”
Push Play.  The bottom line for Octavia seems to come from a line in her song “What It Iz” that says “I know who I work for, I know who I walk with.”

Knowing that Jesus is her guide, it will be no surprise to watch her style of Christian rap spread like “fiyah.”  Now that you’ve started to listen… don’t stop.

To learn more about this artist, visit: http://www.octaviaharris.com