DJ Cuppy aka Florence Ifeoluwa Otedola is a certified go-getter - constantly on the move, whether in music or in education. As a fellow Nigerian, knowing how important education is to most people and most families, I asked Cuppy about what drives her to push boundaries academically, like currently pursuing her second master's degree at Oxford University.
“I think that in life we must never, ever stop learning”, Cuppy muses. “First of all, being Nigerian has taught me how important it is to not just have drive, but also have substance. My parents really put it upon themselves to make sure me and my siblings got the best education. I'm the only one from my family with a master's degree - not one, but two masters!”
On the surface, it might be possible to reduce Cuppy’s identity to her kawaii, super-girly aesthetic. Her DJ name is symbolic of a cupcake and she is a woman with pink hair, a pink house, and an impressive Minnie Mouse toy collection. But she is also a multi-hyphenate eager to distinguish her individuality. “I call myself a little pink ball of energy”, she says while smiling, “every environment I find myself in is different. So I'm a different type of DJ, a philanthropist, a student and an artist in the Nigerian and UK music industry. I make my own lane, you know, aka the pink print, looking at my environment and constantly trying to define myself. I grew up very much privileged and I am the first one to acknowledge it before people remind me. So it’s important for me to disrupt that narrative.”
Cuppy has an unwavering optimism that would be pretty easy to pin on her social privilege being born into a wealthy family. This privilege is undeniable and contributes to her success. Yet there is something special about her drive, despite the inevitable nepo-baby allegations. She continued, “I'm the first one to tell anybody, if you want to do it, you can do it. Nigeria, like I said, the entrepreneurial spirit we have. It means your banker also does hair. We just know how to hustle - somehow, some way. We should be able to hustle with our brain, hustle with our hobbies.”
Cuppy traced her learning journey for me: “My first degree in economics at King's was very much, I have to say, doing it by the book. And then I thought I really want to do music, but guess what? I should probably learn about the damn thing. I literally just remember Googling ‘music business’, and, you know, a lot of universities came in. The best one was actually Berkeley College of Music at the time, but I didn't want to be in Los Angeles because I had a job.”
Versatility seems incredibly important for DJ Cuppy. “I was doing three things at the same time. I was DJ Cuppy the brand. I was also studying music at NYU. And I was also in the field - working at Roc Nation. I always say, it's not just by book, but it's also not just by brain. And it's not just by waka. It's like the three together. People often say that a jack-of-all-trades must be a master of none, but I would definitely like to argue otherwise. People ask me, when are you happiest? It's just when I'm on the decks, having a great time. I curate, you know, I've been able to do several creative projects.”
And she is not only a DJ but a reality tv star. I asked her about the exciting Highlife series that premiered in late 2021 that featured her and a network of affluent Africans: “Well, it's not my first stint. Did you ever hear about Lagos to London? Sorry, one second.” Cuppy pauses for a moment as she tries to get her mischievous but beloved dogs DuDu and FunFun to settle down.
Once settled, she continues, “I think the importance of Highlife for me, whether or not it just showed a very tiny part of me - which isn't really a part of me because Kidd and I are genuinely friends - but anything that makes Black people look good, even if it's not a representation of my full self. I’m a bit of a socialite in that sense, but now I also forever have the stigma of being portrayed as a jealous, single Black woman.”
Reality TV is obsessed with wealth and glitz and that format also leads to misrepresentation: “I mean, I'm definitely slightly bitterly single, but what was good about that is, I think I let my work speak for itself.”
Cuppy is unfazed by assumptions people make about her. As a person often known by her father's name first before her own identity, reality TV provides a unique opportunity to articulate her persona, even if the format is skewed. She explains, “Again, in Highlife, and even Lagos to London, they are kind of playing on wanting Cuppy to be this spoiled rich kid, but I think my work ethic and my humour complicates that. And that's the most important thing.”
Cuppy is also active on social media, sharing tidbits of her extravagant lifestyle ranging from her colourful Ferrari to her insane, pink-themed penthouse. This brand of fame and excess attracts a lot of critique, especially due to the deprivation of the average Nigerian in the country. But as much as she may appear image-conscious and flashy, she is keen to exhibit her more vulnerable, open side as well: “On my social media I'm very expressive but you will catch me mostly not looking good than looking good. I'm very experimental - I woke up in January and shaved all my hair off. A lot of the cast when filming takes and cuts, they’ll say ‘can we do that again?’, or ‘is my eyelash in place?’. But you can tell I literally just woke up.”
A moment on the show still makes her cringe to this day, she explains: “There's the inauthentic thing that I haven't spoken to anyone about yet, you know; throwing water at Kidd. That's not something I would do. That was quite theatrical and online, even people on Twitter were like ‘she didn't even throw the water well!’. I'm one of the most bullied people. It's fairly difficult because also I think, you know, first of all, I do not acknowledge how long I've been doing this s**t for. And it's been a f*****g long time.”
I mentioned a December in Lagos, being at one of DJ Cuppy’s Boat Club sets, with strobe lighting, cupcakes and backup dancers abound. Cuppy reminisced with a flash of nostalgia in her eyes, “I wasn't even pink-haired then. I started rocking pink hair like five years ago. Imagine that - so long ago, right? People didn't even understand what the f**k a woman was doing. Talk less of a woman that had her high society path set for her, you know. I've always been super rebellious and that rebellion does make me shift on purpose. So Cuppy’s going to throw a spanner in the works and keep people guessing in the music industry.”
She’s been deeply engrossed in her African studies degree at Oxford, and complete her thesis this summer. She told me a bit about her broadening perspective on African identity: “I sat down and I thought, gosh, you’re kind of becoming a sort of advocate for Africa. I went on tour a few years ago, 2015. I was like, we need something thinking about Nigeria's lesson about Africa. And I went to like eight different countries within the continent and realised very quickly that we are just one out of 54 - and it's very humbling.”
But she also thinks Nigerians often have a skewed perception of Africanness: “As Nigerians, we are so, so self-absorbed with being the biggest economy in Africa, but it's one of those situations where you kind of realise this. I find myself, for example, in Dakar with Rihanna, or teaching French President Macron how to DJ. I found myself in Rwanda in the president's personal home. As I'm speaking to them and I’m thinking: I don't know enough about Africa.”
Speaking to Cuppy, her curiosity and investment in African consciousness are palpable. She commented, “The appetite to learn is what gets people far. What I noticed in a lot of successful people is that they never stop learning and that's something I've been able to pick up. I think even from my dad, my dad is always learning. So that has basically been instilled in me. So I thought, where can I learn more about Africa now? There is a controversy here. Why learn about Africa outside of Africa - in the most non-African environments? I actually would have loved to go to the University of Ibadan. But it was also about me being in a place where I could blend in. Well, not blend in 'cause I never blended in anywhere, but who wants security in school?”
Cuppy paused as she negotiated the issue in her mind, eventually saying, “I would actually be a bit of an inconvenience for everyone, I think. When it came to Nigeria, I just feel like I would sit there not only as DJ Cuppy, but with a familial title as a wealthy man’s daughter. Whether I have a million followers, [at Oxford] they don't care. Quite frankly, all they care about is - am I handing in this goddamn thesis or not? And I love that accountability.”
Our conversation moved to radio and her thoughts on tastemaking in that format. “Apple Music was my first radio experience, on Beats 1. It was really, really important to actually make sure I kept up my broadcasting experience. I essentially stalked the head of BBC 1Xtra for, well, like three months. People think ‘things just come to Cuppy, maybe her dad just did something and gave people money.’ But I go for what I want, you don't ask, you don't get. So I spoke to this guy, Farhan, who's head of 1Xtra for like six months and nothing was happening but suddenly he's like, well, someone happens to be leaving. Do you want to come and do a demo? I literally ran there and I got the bloody job. I was very surprised because I got a job to present a breakfast show, which is kind of unheard of. It is a non-specialist show, so it's not about Afrobeats.”
Cuppy is experimental and fluid with her use of genres, leading to her often being criticised for playing EDM and other sounds that aren’t often associated with Blackness. But she loves exploring different music nevertheless.
“BBC 1Xtra has really opened my eyes to UK music. I listen to a bit of drill and love the fact that the UK is just constantly evolving. But my first love as always is still this concept of Neo Afrobeats. And it's something that I think Amapiano has kind of grown into, but I've always felt like house music can live within Afrobeats, like commercial West African Afrobeats/pop.
“Artists are getting more experimental and you're seeing Madonna and Fireboy, you're seeing Rema. It's really exciting, but I'm still yet to find my sound. The last project I put out was my debut album, Original Copy. I was really excited about it but why do people try to restrict my sound? If I want to rap one day, I can do that. If I want to become a bloody opera singer, I can do that. I am a product of my environment. We have to be like sponges. I love learning.”
Cuppy has some massive gigs coming up this summer, including an exciting debut at Glastonbury festival. “This summer I'm doing Glastonbury, Wireless, Reading and Leeds. It's about opening those doors because there are young Nigerian girls being told they can't. I'm really excited to take to those stages and give people an experience that is authentic. Look, I just met you. And I don't even know how not to be myself! My team always panic - like oh God, what is she going to say! But it's amazing carrying a piece of Nigeria and my experiences with me wherever I go.”
The conversation turns to audience responses and weird experiences during DJ sets. Cuppy sighs before commenting, “I do a lot of student gigs ‘cause I refuse to accept I'm turning 30 soon. I love students but I get booed all the time. For like, playing a bit of the Macarena. Why can't I play the Macarena as well? Every time, trap, trap! I'm not a radical feminist, but I'm a bit more liberal - it's actually about trying to just exist because if I was trying to change the way people view female DJs, I would have never f*****g bothered. I will enter, you will feel like I can't play and I will kick ass and that will teach you to not judge people by how they look - simple as that.”
Regardless of people’s thoughts on individual DJs like Cuppy, African female DJs are certainly on the rise. DJ Cuppy is booked and busy at present with festival season charging ahead, but she seems to move with an air of openness and flexibility: “I really don't have it figured out, and that's the beauty of life. People will be like ‘why did you do the Oxford degree?’, but it's about the journey and I'm still on an experimental path to success. The thing that always stays the same is #CuppyOnAMission.”
Follow Cuppy on Instagram and Twitter, and stream her latest 'Festival Mix 22'.