Issue 12

Hometown: Lansing, MI

From Lansing, Michigan, comes Octavion Davis, 23, a midwest rapper and producer who continues to help introduce UNDRGRND's audience to the up and coming Michigan wave.

At 16, Davis was incarcerated for about a year. Despite being behind bars, he used up that time to play basketball or dive into the creative world of writing.

”It was like a wake up call,” Davis said. “Because every time I came back from playing basketball my body would be tired and hurting, but then I started writing and my hand wasn’t tired.”

His written raps remained hidden in his cell — until one day an officer got ahold of his notes. According to Octavion, this particular officer was known for showing no expression, but reacted in a way that gave Octavion his jolt of confidence in his own songwriting.

After being released from prison in 2017, he was hit with the question of, “what will I do now?”

”I’m either going to ball or imma rap,” Davis said.

Octavion is now eight years into his music career. He tells UNDRGRND his most notable moment so far was when his music was reviewed by Travie McCoy and Clinton Sparks during a social media music review session.

”I remember seeing my face and I just went crazy,” Davis said. “I ran downstairs and I showed my stepfather and my mom. Once my mom saw that Travie McCoy and Clinton Sparks was talking about me, that's when I knew I had something.”

Davis has over 23 singles dating back to his first ever release in 2019, “Mic Check.” He finds influences from legendary rappers like Eminen, 2 Pac, 50 Cent, and shouts out Keyshia Cole, Dr. Dre, and Stevie Wonder, and his dream collaborations.