I-Octane Introduction
Byiome Muir aka I-Octane, grew up in Sandy Bay, a small community east of May Pen in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica. Muir attended Palmers Cross All-Age School. He then Garvey Maceo High School, and would often sing and make noises during class. Muir briefly attended Knox Community College to study architecture. Eventually, he left college to pursue his recording career full-time.
Richie Rich
At the age of 16, Muir began his recording career. He was quickly introduced to Donovan Germain of Penthouse Records. Germain was an influential manager for such artists as Buju Banton and Assassin (Agent Sasco). Muir then released his first singles, “Oh Jah” and “Stepp a Seed,” in 2000 at Penthouse Records under the moniker Richie Rich.
Birth of I-Octane
This led to Muir meeting Junior Arrows of the Arrows Recording Company. He eventually signed onto the Kingston label under the new name I-Octane. A play on high-octane fuel and the Rastafarian use of I.
Musical Journey
I-Octane’s initial acclaim came in 2007 for his social commentary works such as the roots, reggae track “Stab Vampire.” The single climbed to the top of several Jamaican charts. In 2009, I-Octane secured stardom with monstrous, emotional anthems “Mama You Alone” and “Lose A Friend.”
“Over the years I’ve lost a couple friends. I even lost my Grand Father a couple of weeks after releasing this song.”
After leaving Arrows, I-Octane was under the guidance of Robert Livingston. A veteran producer who had been responsible for the success of such artists as Super Cat and Shaggy. In 2010 I-Octane released a string of massive hits with Jamaica’s Cashflow Records. The impressive arsenal includes “No Love Inna Dem” and the cannabis anthem “Puff It.” The later was named as one of NPR’s Top 5 Dancehall Tracks of 2011. In 2011, he hit with the contemplative “My Life”, produced by DJ Frass, This single was featured in the April–May issue of the hip-hop magazine Vibe.
Star Endorsements
That same year, he was signed as Brand Ambassador for the telecommunications giant Digicel and he remains employed as a representative of the company. In March 2013, I-Octane was selected as a brand ambassador for the Caribbean soft drink Busta. I-Octane has also been the Brand Ambassador for the Golden Eagle Brand in Jamaica.
Conquering the Globe
In 2011, I-Octane announced he would be starting his own record label, Conquer The Globe Productions. Serving to produce instrumentals for him and further promoting him as an artist. He then released a six-song EP, “Straight From The Heart,” in December. The EP still appeals to a global audience. The EP’s lead single “Burn Dem Bridge,” produced by Stephen “Di Genius” McGregor, topped several charts in Jamaica. Furthermore, it received significant international airplay on stations such as New York’s Hot 97 FM.
Crying To The Nation
I-Octane’s debut album, Crying To The Nation, was released on February 13, 2012. The release was through Robert Livingston’s Scikron Entertainment in the Caribbean and VP Records internationally.
The album received generally positive reviews from critics. Rick Anderson of AllMusic praised the record as a “solid winner” and David Katz of BBC Music also called the album “a surprisingly varied set, comprising mostly new roots reggae in the one-drop style, along with a couple of rougher-edged tracks in full-on dancehall mode.”
The album’s lead single was the lovers rock ballad “L.O.V.E. Y.O.U.”, which still sees significant success locally and domestically.
International Tours and More Albums
I-Octane followed the album with a tour of the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The success and momentum led to another string of hit singles. Including “Badmind Dem A Pree”, which featured Bounty Killer and produced by Buju Banton’s son Markus Myrie. Even more, the summer anthem “Love Di Vibes,” and the Seanizzle-produced smash “Gal A Gimmi Bun.”
His second album was produced by DJ Frass and named My Journey. It was released in March 2014 on Tad’s International Records. I-Octane continued to work with DJ Frass on the 2015 EP New Chapter.
In March 2018, I-Octane’s Love and Life album debuted at #3 on the reggae Billboard where it stayed for 3 weeks. Produced executively by I-Octane under his Conquer The Globe Production label.
Most recently, I-Octane has released international hits “Plutocrat” and “Banga Fone.”
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