Soulful Crooner October London on Marvin Gaye Comparisons and Why He’s Riding with Death Row Records for Life

Hailing from South Bend, Indiana, October London has become a breakout name that connects with soulful resonance and poetic craftsmanship in the R&B world. With a voice that echoes emotions and lyrics that paint narratives, London stands as a distinctive artist carving his path within the industry. Since signing with Snoop Dogg’s iconic Death Row Records in 2016, London has become a noteworthy figure in the music scene. His latest album, The Rebirth of Marvin, not only showcases his distinctive style but also draws comparisons to the legendary Marvin Gaye. Adding a festive touch, he recently gifted fans with a soulful Christmas album titled The Greatest Gift.

In an exclusive conversation with EBONY, London opens up about his musical journey, exploring the comparisons to the legendary Marvin Gaye and the remarkable success of The Rebirth of Marvin. He also shares the intriguing story of signing with Snoop Dogg.

EBONY: What was your experience growing up in South Bend, Indiana?

October London: I can’t speak for all of Indiana because I’m from South Bend, and I’ve bounced back and forth between South Bend and Indianapolis from time to time. Growing up here was really chill. There wasn’t too much happening. Initially, there used to be a lot going on due to it being a college town, but many people have moved away since then. Some relocated to Napa, while others, whom I know, moved to Atlanta and places like that.

What was your experience like having a role in Empire in 2017 and do you have plans to pursue acting again the the future?

That was my first time acting, and one of the producers or directors on the show asked me, “Hey, how long have you been acting?” I replied, “Today.” They were in disbelief. There were actually discussions about making me a main character on the show, but then the whole Jussie Smollett incident happened, and it just kind of fell through. I would love to do that again; it was fun for me. Surprisingly, it was easier than I thought because I was playing myself. I wasn’t portraying a specific character, so I didn’t have to delve too deeply into a role. I think for the next two years, I’m going to focus intensely on music and then, after that, pursue acting.

I’m on Death Row, and I don’t ever plan to leave Death Row. If I retire from music, I’m retiring from Death Row.

October London

You’ve been compared to the likes of Marvin Gaye. How do you handle criticism or feedback that suggests you sound too similar to another artist?

It’s wild, man, to think about because I’ve never been the one to try and fill another artist’s shoes. I’m not trying to fill Marvin’s shoes at all; those are huge shoes to fill. No one can fill the great shoes, no one can fill the Isley Brothers’ shoes, or Marvin’s shoes, or Teddy’s shoes or Luther Vandross’s shoes, nobody can fill those shoes… It’s been surreal for people to put me and Marvin Gaye side by side and say that I sound like him. I was just grabbing a vibe. I wasn’t trying to be like them or take anything from him. The album wasn’t even supposed to drop, to be honest. I was just doing the album and then I was just putting it back in the hard drive. I was like, alright, I’m done with this because the album was made in a week, and [I] freestyled the whole album. After I got done with it I just set it to the side, then let me go to the next project. So for it to blow up the way it did because we dropped it in February and it was getting a little bit of talk and I was just like, whatever. I started working on the next album, and all of a sudden, it just blew up in April, May or June—something like that—and hit the charts. I just think it’s surreal to be talked about next to a great. So I’m working on the next installment that’s going to be like Rebirth, but I’m not calling it The Rebirth of Marvin 2. I keep saying that until I have an actual title for it but it’s going to be old school as well. That’s going to be the last of that. I’m not doing any more old-school type of music.

How do you approach the songwriting process for your R&B tracks?

My writing process solely starts with the vibe. If the vibes are not right and I’m not feeling it, I don’t do it. Snoop Dogg gives me a round of applause for how I do these records because he’ll send me stuff, and if I don’t respond to it, or maybe I will respond to it, but if I don’t do it immediately, he doesn’t pressure me to do it. So that’s the way I do things. If I hear a track, either I love it or hate it. I don’t go into the studio and say this could be something; I don’t do it. That track has 30 seconds to tell me something, and if it doesn’t tell me something in 30 seconds, next. That’s why The Rebirth of Marvin is so stacked the way it is because I was like I’m feeling this. “Back to Your Place” and “Mulholland Drive” happened like that. So my process in the studio is always going into the studio and finding that vibe. I have OCD, so I have to clean first. If it’s messy, I can’t do it. I got my whole vibe going, and the tracks popping off, it’s to the races. I’m already halfway done with the second entry to Rebirth.

You released The Rebirth of Marvin, a tribute to Marvin Gaye last February. What have you learned since dropping the project?

I’ve learned more just on the writing side; listening to the album and how I freestyled it then going and listening to the greats and all that. I was listening to old school this morning. I learned a lot from the album from making it. I’ve learned that people still love the old-school music because honestly, I didn’t think it was gonna sell, bro. I was like everybody’s on the Ice Spice wave, not hating on them or none like that. It’s just all these other artists they’re on. I’m like, people don’t want this. They want trap, they want all this other stuff, the more urban. They want the Eric Bellinger’s and the SZA’s, but I just started to make that album. I learned that I was wrong. I put that out and it just blew up, and then it crossed over into the urban market. So now they’re playing Ice Spice, Megan thee Stallion, and then back to your place. So I love it, that’s why I’m gonna do one more and then I’m gonna move on to something else. 

You signed to Snoop Dogg’s Death Row Records in 2016. What has it been like being signed to Snoop Dogg and working closely with him in your music career?

I got Snoop Dogg through Jazzy Pha: shout out to Jazzy. He was on his way to link up with Snoop, and he had some music. He played my song “Colorblind,” which I had already recorded before we ended up doing the album and all that kind of stuff. He played it for him and he loved it. He signed me on March 16, 2016. It was history from there. Being signed to Snoop has been one of my greatest achievements in music because he’s so easygoing; he’s a Libra, and we got along as soon as we met. It was like, what’s up? It wasn’t, “No, I’m nervous.” It was like a homie I hadn’t seen in a minute. He’s never pushed me to do something I don’t want to do. He’s always protected me in this industry because there’s a lot of negativity and craziness that goes along with all this. I’ve never been in trouble with the IRS or money issues or anything because of him. He’s always made sure that everything is handled properly. He’s a busy artist, and he does so much for him to say we need music for this, and let me give you this: me and Martha Stewart are doing this show, so I need you to do the music for that, and he’s been doing that since 2016. My contract is probably one of the best contracts for an artist in the industry that I have right now. I have an impeccable contract where I’m just getting paid the majority.

Busta Rhymes mentioned potentially wanting to collaborate with you. Who else would you like to collaborate with and are there specific individuals you have in mind for your next installment?

To be honest, I don’t even want any features on my next installment. Now, I would love to work with Busta Rhymes. One of my dream collaborations was to work with Tank and we’re working on a record right now. John Mayer, I want to work with him. Eric Bellinger and I need to do a record together. There are just so many, me and H.E.R., but some of those I would love to collaborate with and do it on the side. Me and Tamar Braxton have a crazy remix to “Back to Your Place” that I’m about to leak out next week. It’s going to be crazy. On this next installment, I just want to get it done. I’m going to produce and write it all. If I do have anybody on it, I want to do something different. I want Dave Chappelle to narrate the album. I want Quincy Jones in the middle of it, just saying something and telling a story. I want something like that. I want some narration. I want to add somebody to it.

What emotions and anticipations are fueling your excitement as you prepare to go on your solo tour next year?

It’s going to be crazy. My boy just hit me up and said tickets are just flying off the shelves, man, which is great because I haven’t done a show that wasn’t sold out yet. I’ve been doing shows for months now back to back for rebirth and just doing them one-off shows, and it’s crazy to think that I have my own tour and it’ll be the first one. I’m working on a guaranteed 120 shows next year. I think the best part of the tour is just having my day ones with me that are going to be with me on the road. One of my boys is driving one of the tour buses. I got my boy Jamie, who’s my logistics and assisted me with everything. I got Jonathan Coleman as my tour manager, I got my boy Cam handling merch along with meet and greets. I got Neil doing audio visual; I got my team with me. So there’s nobody that I don’t know or I don’t trust. These are people that I’m with all the time. 

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