Octopizzo’s mindset reminds me of one person who personified hustling in the hip hop scene around the globe and that’s Curtis Jackson, the rapper popularly known by his moniker, 50 cent.
Octopizzo defied the odds to be where he is at the moment just like Curtis Jackson did. He saw the vision, and ambition of being where he is today long before anybody saw it, okay –maybe DJ Pinye saw it too– but that’s me digressing.
Octopizzo gave his career a year or two to blossom because he was a young father who had a mouth to feed, his daughter Tracy was all the motivation he needed to excel in everything and anything he had his mind to.
Prior to being a prolific rapper in the music industry churning out bangers after bangers, as soon as he went mainstream, Octopizzo was a car electrician who saw that he had way more to offer than his current station.
As soon as Octopizzo dropped his hit record that will forever change the hip hop scene in Kenya, Octopizzo hooked everyone up with his new, unseen style that was unprecedented by dropping ‘On Top’.
This record was completely different, from the visual aesthetics, to the lyrics, to the fashion finesse he introduced in the entertainment scene, he became larger than life itself in the entertainment scene, he became the epitome of Kenya’s entertainment scene having embraced the Urban culture of Nairobi and ran with the Sheng that resonated with most if not all of the youth in the country.
He completely changed the game as we know it. He brought hip hop to boardrooms. Before Octopizzo, hip hop was shunned upon in the corporate realm, at least in the country.
Octopizzo x Hennessy manifestation
It’s in the same ‘On Top’ record that Octopizzo manifested working with Hennessy where he has an interesting line that speaks about choosing Hennessy over any brand of Cognac.
“Walidhani wakibuy Subaru watakuwa wameacha legacy / Octo niko juu ya madawa ni kaa nimekalia pharmacy / Brain iko full ata ujinga haiwezi ulizia vacancy / unataka kuwa ka mi come YGB then hang na si / Bado unakunywa cham eh, zangu ni ma Hennessy,” he raps on the first verse of the ‘On Top’ record that was released more than a decade ago.
Watch the offocial music video for ‘On Top’ as written and performed by Octopizzo below. Stream the same underneath;
Octopizzo went on to drop hits after hits since his mainstream debut changed the mainstream hip hop scene as we know it. Listing all his hit records deserves a whole new article.
Living the Manifestation
Right now it’s safe to say Octopizzo is the face of Hennessy in the country which he has since become synonymous with.
Wherever you see Hennessy brand in Kenya, instantly Octopizzo comes to mind because he’s working with them as the face of the brand making the brand resonate quite well with their target audience.
Through the collaboration between Octopizzo and Hennessy, we’ve seen the rapper rub shoulders with literally the upper echelons of hip hop in the world, not in Kenya and/or in Africa but globally. Octopizzo has rubbed shoulders with Nas, the one and only Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones who is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. This is a fact that nobody can dispute and that should tell you how high Octopizzo’s hustler’s ambition was set.
Mentioning Nas should be enough to prove that Octopizzo has come a long way to enjoy his current station but just to sprinkle a little flavor to the Kibera-representing rapper’s accolades, he has also met with Obama, 50 Cent, just to mention a few.
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Octopizzo is the set pacer, the measuring stick, the summit at the proverbial mountain top.
Octopizzo’s story must inspire a lot of people who are from the trenches trying to make something work for themselves and their loved ones.
Octopizzo saw himself working with Hennessy long before anybody saw it and now he’s literally living his manifestation eons later.
A big question that a lot of people who are inspired by Octopizzo’s accomplishments must be asking is when, oh when will he ever write that book because he’s an inspiration to a whole lot of people out there.
