Ifeoluwa Florence Otedola, popularly known as DJ Cuppy is gradually working her way to being a household name in the showbiz industry. The billionaire’s daughter recently became a graduate of the prestigious King’s college London. The beautiful 21 year-old is not taking any rest from studying as she has been admitted into New York University for her second degree program in Music Business....
She spoke to Nigerian Entertainment Today, on her plans for the future and how far she’s willing to go as a Disc Jockey....
Really, what do you do?...
(Smiles) Just to give you an idea of what I do and what I hope to do, I’ll start by talking about how where I stand at the moment. I’m a female Dj, a songwriter, and a producer. I just graduated from Kings College, so am now able to do this full time and very professionally too, because I realize trying to move forward in the entertainment industry and growing your brand requires a level of structure and commitment. So for me, it’s fun, exciting and to be honest, there are a lot of great things that I want to do, my dreams are probably bigger than me....
When did you start out as a DJ?...
I started out as a DJ when I was 16 years old, I’ve always loved music right from my childhood, and I loved schooling as well, because I was taught to know the value of education, so for me education is very important, and as much as knowledge is power, I also believe that chasing your dreams is very important, and I feel very honored when I hear people say to me that am such a great example of someone that has been able to be educated as well as chasing my dreams all at the same time. I’ve started my own company, which does publishing and management, but for now ‘cuppy’ is the first brand of the company. Looking at my journey now, I guess I’m at a place where I just released my new music compilation called ‘House of Cuppy’, I’m really going for it and the journey has been pretty interesting so far....
As a songwriter, what have you done?...
Yeah, I dropped my first official single in July 2013, the song is titled ‘I love my country’ and it’s quite good, I sampled Tunji Oyelana’s chorus in the song. I’ve lived half of my life in Nigeria and the other half in the UK, so with my music, I reflect both cultures, I’m very passionate about ‘House Music’, so wherever I find myself, I take a piece of Nigeria with me and I’m constantly playing Nigerian music, and I do mix them with other types of music which I think makes me unique as a DJ....
Tell me about your new mix tape ‘House of Cuppy’?...
To start with, I think we are becoming more and more open to new sounds in Nigeria, so for me the idea was getting something that’s very Nigerian and expanding it to make it appeal to a global audience. With my new project ‘House of Cuppy’, that’s exactly what I did, I got 5 of my favorite Nigerian songs and I interpreted them in my own way....
As a female DJ, do people take you serious?...
(Smiles) Truly, people do make assumptions. There are times I go to the venue of an event where I’m supposed to perform, and the moment the organisers see me and my manager, they’ll be like ‘oh, the DJ is here’, but they’ll be looking at my manager because he’s a guy. There’s just this general assumption that I can’t be the DJ, because it’s not a norm for women, but in the middle of all these, I love my job and I do it very well....
How busy are you at the moment?...
I’m very busy. I think it’s because I put a 101% into anything I do, I believe anything worth doing at all is worth doing well. I try not to get myself involved in too many projects because at the moment we are just half way through the year, and am already looking towards projects for next year....
Looking into the future, what plans do you have?...
Talking about my long term plan, I guess that’s why I started my own company, because as far as Nigerian music and Nigerian musical content is concerned, I feel that there’s so much potential on a larger global scale, I want to take Nigerian music to other parts of the world, with my job, I’m so fortunate because I get to travel round the world, and so far I think we underestimate the power of music. So on the long run, I’ll love to have a business that gives opportunity to African artistes to have a global platform and this time am not talking about the clichéd sort of record companies we have around, it’s really deeper than that, it’s more than that. I’m talking about publishing rights, having song writers, producers because in this modern times, DJS and producers too are now being rrecognized and when I look at the business side, I see huge potentials too, so I’m looking forward to all these. At the moment am doing my masters in New York; I’m doing a course in ‘Music Business’....
Let’s talk about your childhood?...
For me, growing up was very colorful I was a very playful and naughty child. I used to be very inquisitive, I was very intrigued by things, and I once turned our living room into a studio. Really, I had a wonderful childhood, I had many friends, I grew up on the mainland, G.R.A Ikeja to be precise, and looking back now, I have so much fun memories from my childhood....
How supportive are your parents when it comes to career as a dj?...
I have to say I’m very lucky, because I have the most supportive parents in the world; my parents push me to be a better version of myself. I think generally, what discourages most young people from pursuing their passion is not having support, and when I say support, I don’t really mean financial, I mean moral support. I have a very amazing team as well, and I have a lot of people around me that are constantly advising me. I really feel very very fortunate to have parents that believe in me and parents are constantly pushing and challenging me to be better....
How would you react to the comparison of your talent to your dad’s wealth and influence?...
Yes. I do get that a lot, but I feel my background just distracts people, but here I am, following my dreams, doing a very exciting project, but sometimes my family life shadows it. It’s quite difficult, but the way I view it, I think time tells all, I also believe talent and passion speaks for itself. You might get opportunities based on different things, but that would only take you as far as it would take you, after a while, if you are not good at what you do, you won’t have anything to do afterwards. A lot of times after my performance I get great comments and that keeps me going. I think with time, people would identify with what I do and how passionate I am about it....
Being a famous billionaire’s daughter, for you is it a curse or a blessing?...
There’s always a good and bad side to everything, someone’s advantage could be someone else’s disadvantage. There are opportunities that come with it, but there are also things that I miss out on. So really it’s a two-way thing, it’s really a bit of both....
How would you describe your relationship with your dad?...
We are very close, he’s not only my mentor, he’s my best friend. He’s very involved in my projects, not only from the advisory role, but also from the creative side, when I have gigs, most times he helps me go through the list especially when I have old school gigs, you know my dad is very passionate about music, I remember listening to Fela in his car as a kid....
If you weren’t a DJ, what else would you have done?
I could definitely see myself going into law, I love law and am very interested in Entertainment Law, so I would still find myself in the entertainment industry it would just be on a different level.
As a child growing up, what profession fascinated you initially?
As a child I actually wanted to be a banker, I remember I used to act as a bank back then, I would cut pieces of paper into money and tell everyone I’m a banker.
You were the official DJ at the 2014 MAMAs, what was the experience like?
I was very honoured to be the resident DJ for this year’s MAMAs, it was such an amazing gig, it was very interesting because they approached me and said they love what I’m doing especially with ‘House Music’, because that brand of music is very big in South Africa and Nigerian music is very big there as well.
It was a very great experience, and for me it’s one of the many gigs I’ve handled, I’ve done birthdays, weddings, burials, I was the DJ for the Financial Times in Mexico, so really I get to do different things and I like the fact that my job keeps me on my toes....
How did you get the name ‘Cuppy’?
My stage name is ‘Dj Cuppy’ even though I’ve heard it pronounced in different ways (smiles). The name actually comes from the word ‘Cupcakes’. I decided to be called ‘Dj Cuppy’ because when I was a kid, I was and I’m still absolutely obsessed with ‘Cupcakes’ and I like baking as well. And when it was time for me to choose a DJ name, I chose ‘Dj Cupcake’ (laughs), and naturally friends were calling me all sorts like ‘cups’, ‘cuppy’, ‘cuppito’, so eventually the name ‘cuppy’ stuck and that’s my name now.
Coming from your background as the child of a billionaire, do you think being a DJ would make you the kind of money you’ll really want?
Talking about the monetary value of what I do, it’s still my very early stage now, so it’s all about branding myself and it’s all about service delivery and getting the job done properly. I run a company that does a lot of other things in and outside entertainment, so it’s a gradual process, and we would surely make money by God’s grace (smiles)....
You were recently made a Tourism Ambassador, how does that feel?
Yea, I’m a brand advocate for Facility Nigeria, which is a tourism company. I’m so honored to be part of it, the ministry asked me to be part of it because of my song ‘I Love My Country’, it’s a very patriotic song that a love of young people identified with....
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