Music

South Bend, Indiana-born singer-songwriter October London might be the closest we’ve come to seeing the full aspiration of the original Death Row Records, founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, Dick Griffey, and Harry-O. For all the legendary rappers—2Pac, Snoop, and the heat that trailed them—Death Row was always reaching for something bigger: a multigenre home where The Lady of Rage’s lyricism stood shoulder to shoulder with Danny Boy’s crooning, and where mighty movie soundtracks like Above the Rim and even a Christmas album with a gangsta twist were all part of the culture.

A Grammy-winning singer and Snoop protege, October blends vintage soul, modern R&B, and now even country under his “Sam Nash” alter ego. It’s a throwback to old-school storytelling with a contemporary twist and it’s happening under the banner of a label still synonymous with West Coast hip-hop.

London’s best-known track, “Back to Your Place,” topped the Billboard Adult R&B Airplay chart and earned him three Soul Train Music Award nominations. Pulled from his 2023 album The Rebirth of Marvin, the record’s bold title drew some early criticism, but as London tells me, he ultimately won people over. “People listened to the music and were like, ‘this isn’t half bad,’” he said with a laugh. 

Since then, London’s profile has only grown. This summer, he appeared on Snoop’s breezy single “Must Be Summer,” dropped a new track under his Sam Nash alias called “Country Man,” and just released his latest Sam Nash album, Duallys and Damsels, on Sept. 19. SPIN caught up with him to talk about his artistry, his bond with Snoop, and what it means for a new generation to carry Death Row’s torch and fulfill the label’s original vision of a house big enough to hold it all.

Early beginnings and an early Snoop assist 

Born Jared Samuel Erskine, London grew up in a household where music wasn’t just played, it was made. His mother was a singer, his father a guitarist, and family gatherings often turned into jam sessions. Alongside the original songs, there was always soul and funk in the air including Ronald Isley, Frankie Beverly and Maze, and Marvin Gaye.

Despite this background, London considered many careers before music, including designing cars and being a truck driver. “I guess I could always sing,” he said. “I would sing for my grandmother in front of her — audience of one — singing Michael Bolton’s ‘When a Man Loves a Woman,’ and she loved that. She would clap and be really proud of me.” 

After graduating from high school, he decided not to pursue college and instead commit to music full time. One of his earliest hits was 2016’s “Black Man in America,” which features a fiery music video where London gets shot. “It was kind of made on a whim,” he recalled. “I was kind of just in a mood, because I was just seeing so much injustice.And I was seeing so much wrongdoing, whether it was police brutality, or, not to get too political, I just saw a lot of wrong in the system.”

London found the courage to go all in with the track thanks in part to Snoop Dogg, whom he first crossed paths with after a friend in Indiana connected him to producer-hookman Jazze Pha. London sent Pha a wide-ranging batch of tracks and Pha, impressed, passed some along to Snoop. What many people don’t realize is that his business relationship with Snoop wasn’t immediately formalized. “We were on a shaking-hand basis from 2016 all the way up until right after he acquired Death Row,” London said.

Joining the Family

Snoop’s purchase of Death Row Records from MNRK Music Group in February 2022 was a full-circle moment for the Long Beach rapper, whose 1993 debut Doggystyle helped define the label. For London, it was the moment everything changed for him, too. He remembers being in the room when Snoop ended a call finalizing the deal, and later that night during the celebration, Snoop pulled him aside. “He was like, ‘You’re going to be the flagship of Death Row,’” London recalled.

At first, London bristled. He thought of the countless legends who had come before him, and the fact that he was an R&B singer, not a rapper. But Snoop was clear: He wanted to steer Death Row in a new direction, and London was the artist he trusted to move that forward. 

London is grateful that over the years he’s been able not only to release R&B projects (2023’s The Rebirth of Marvin and 2024’s October Nights) but also to branch into pop, country, reggaeton, and EDM. He even appeared on Snoop’s “Funky Christmas,” a successor to the label’s holiday-themed compilation, Christmas on Death Row (1996). 

As part of the family, he’s crossed paths with Death Row legends like Daz Dillinger, with whom he recorded “When Life Calls,” a reimagining of a Michael Franks track from the ’80s where London sounds uncannily like Nate Dogg. “That was interesting because they were kind of looking at me like, ‘OK, this new kid, he ain’t Nate, but Snoop brought him in, let’s see what the hell he can do,’” London said. “I just wanted to show I could deliver like Nate could. I wanted to be that kid they’d call and be like, ‘Yo, come on man, we need you on this record.’”

That call has come more than once. London has been tapped by West Coast mainstays from Tha Dogg Pound to the Game, where he says he recently cut a track for the Compton rapper’s long-teased Documentary 3 album.

Dual identities 

Some know him as October London, the smooth R&B singer with the jet black suit and shades. Others recognize him as Sam Nash, his country-singing alter ego. London likes to shapeshift to keep things interesting. “I like to do this whole skip to my lou thing through different genres. I don’t want to get too bored,” he said. 

His passion for country also speaks to the year he spent in Texarkana, Texas, a place with “nothing but rich oil money,” and where he decided to devour every kind of music out there. London says he gets excited about contemporary country, as well as artists like Kenny Chesney and Reba McEntire, drawing particular inspiration from McEntire’s lyrics. 

What draws him most, though, is the storytelling power of the genre. “Country is like a soul food, like a gumbo,” he said. “I feel like I can be vulnerable in country. I feel like there’s no judgment… there’s just something about an acoustic guitar or a pedal steel that tells a different story and shows a different scenery and makes me write differently when I hear those songs and those elements.”

Sam Nash’s “Tennessee Whiskey” featuring original songwriter Dean Dillon is a nod to earlier generations of the country staple while staking new ground in a world increasingly aware of Nearest Green, the first African-American master distiller on record. 

London says shifting between his two personas usually happens without a hitch, with fans willing to follow him across genres. Still, there can be moments of confusion, like when he casually mentioned to his October London audience that he was “switching genres.” What he meant was that he was stepping into his Sam Nash persona for a while, not leaving R&B behind. He’s quick to clarify that there’s plenty more to come on the October London front, true to a Death Row label that was a platform for artists like fellow Midwesterner Danny Boy, as well as Jewell, Val Young, and Nate Dogg. But, barring Nate, you can’t help but wonder what would have happened if those singers were given even more of a chance to shine. 

Snoop himself was a devoted fan of Detroit group the Dramatics, and was thrilled when Dre’s bassist Tony Green—who had played with the group for decades—helped broker their appearance on the iconic “Doggy Dogg World,” as Green once recalled to me. George Clinton made his way onto several Death Row tracks and Suge Knight recently revealed that 2Pac was campaigning to get Aaliyah signed to the label, too. Now, under Snoop’s leadership, Death Row is fully embracing R&B, as well as many other genres, too.

Inspired by Snoop’s constant movement, London is building beyond music and bringing value to the label in different ways. “I’m going to retire with Death Row… movies, podcasts, TV shows—anything I can bring to the table other than just music,” he said.

“I want to keep it big because that’s what Snoop’s been doing all these years,” he adds. “A lot of artists coming up behind him didn’t see that. But me and Snoop, we’re both Libras.”

London says some of Snoop’s best advice is to forget the algorithm and ignore the rules. In today’s R&B scene, crowded with artists like Bryson Tiller and Migos, it’s tempting to follow the mold, but Snoop told him to find his own lane. 

“There’s been zero traffic,” London said. “And I’m doing 80 all the way home.”