October London

Foremost a soul-rooted artist whose smooth, heartfelt vocals recall giants of the past -- especially Marvin Gaye -- October London is a versatile artist who also raps and is equally comfortable with R&B throwbacks, slick house productions, and organic contemporary country ballads, among other styles. A longtime associate of Snoop Dogg, London has been featured on numerous tracks by the rapper, and has recorded for his Cadillacc Music, Doggy Style, and revived Death Row labels. London's many notable projects include Please Leave a Message (2022), The Rebirth of Marvin (2023), and October Nights (2024).

The South Bend, Indiana native (born Jared Samuel Erskine) began making music under the name Sam London. He appeared in 2013 with a cover of Juicy's slow jam "Sugar Free," coincidentally a hit the year of his birth (1986). Near the end of 2013, London released The Introduction, an EP that ranged from Motown-style R&B to folk-pop. The Latin pop-flavored "Baila Conmigo" followed in 2014. Two years later, he returned under the alias October London, and signed with Cadillacc Music, operated by Jazze Pha and Snoop Dogg. Color Blind: Love, London's label debut, was issued in October 2016 and featured "Black Man in America," a fiery protest anthem, as well as a bluesier title song that put his falsetto on display. Color Blind: Hate & Happiness landed the following April with "Top Down" including a guest verse from Snoop Dogg. London had made the first of many appearances on Snoop's own records with the hook to "Revolution," the finale of Coolaid.

Cadillacc Music shuttered, but London continued with the disparate independent singles "Delorean" and "Quarantina" in 2020. The next year, Snoop's Doggy Style imprint was behind London's equally contrasting "LSD," "Lime Squeeze," and "Tennessee Whiskey," and major-label Def Jam issued the singer's Caribbean-flavored "I Want You." The year 2022 marked the start of a longer phase with the reactivated Death Row Records owned by Snoop. London started his Death Row era with "I Dont Give a Damn." -- something of a follow-up to the countrified "Tennessee Whiskey" -- after which he temporarily returned to Doggy Style with the progressive R&B EP Please Leave a Message, then offered Crypto Winter, descriptively subtitled "The Dubstep/House Album." In 2023, he went into full Marvin Gaye mode with The Rebirth of Marvin, delivered more club tracks on the Technicolor EP, and also issued a Christmas album entitled The Greatest Gift. Additionally, he recorded the ballad "Eternity" for the soundtrack of The Color Purple. The album October Nights -- previewed with the Stylistics-referencing "She Keeps Calling" and another elegant tune, "A Beautiful Woman" -- was released in October 2024. ~ Andy Kellman