DJ Cuppy

Perhaps one of Nigeria’s richest and most prominent disc jockeys comes in the highly sociable persona of Florence Ifeoluwa Otedola better known by her stage name as DJ Cuppy. She’s more than just a disc jockey but a performing musician, entertainer, philanthropist, record producer, brand ambassador, and could easily pass for a social media influencer. Her constant presence on the spotlight has earned her widespread popularity across the Nigerian entertainment sphere. Add that to her discography, her background as the second daughter to Nigeria’s foremost billionaire, Femi Otedola, and her constant showbiz activities then you have a rich DJ who’s a household name in Nigeria.

Let’s take a dive into her profile and how far she’s gone in the industry.

Birth, Education, Family

DJ Cuppy was born in November 11, 1992 to the family of oil business mogul Femi and wife Nana Otedola in Lagos Nigeria. She is housed in a family of four with 2 sisters (Temi and Christie Otedola) and a brother (Prince Fewa).

She had her primary education in IIupeju Lagos, and Ikeja before relocating to London where she did her A-levels. She graduated from King’s College, London in 2014 with a degree in Business and Economics. The following year, she obtained a Master’s Degree in Music Business from the New York state university.

Career

For starters, she had christened herself Cuppy for the love of cupcakes and more specifically, red velvet cupcakes. While at college in London, Florence found her hubby in disc jockeying and soon became a little famous around her circles. She was often invited to come perform at clubs in London which she obliged to the latter, and knocked herself out on the performances. She would later take it up as a full-time career after college which led her to proceed to the United States to obtain a Masters Degree in Music Business. She then had an internship stint at Jay Z’s Roc Nation in the United States where she learnt the dynamics of music business from the best.

Not satisfied with just the spinning wheels of steels, DJ Cuppy ventured into music and music production as part of her entertainment gigs. She produced her first two singles in 2017 titled “Vibe” and “The Way I Am”. Same year, she released her first single as a singer titled “Green Light” and featured Nigerian singer, Tekno.

One single was enough to spur her into more as she did another in 2018 titled “Vybe” featuring ace Ghanaian rapper Sarkordie. Barely doing any song alone as newbie in the industry, she went ahead in the succeeding years to feature L.A.X (In Currency), Skuki (In Werk), Ghana’s Kwesi Arthur (In Abena), Zlatan (In Gelato), and Rema and Rayvanny (In Jollof on the Jet).

She launched her debut mixtape in 2014 titled “House of Cuppy” featuring Afrobeat stars like Dr Sid, Naeto C, Tiwa Savage, Wizkid and many other acts.

Her debut album as a singer was released in 2020 titled “Original Copy”. The album had 11 tracks in it featuring Stonebwoy, Seyi Shay, Teni, Fireboy DML and many other acts.

She has her own record label which is named after her favorite cupcake “Red Velvet Music” in the United Kingdom.

Cuppy describes her musical artistry as “Neo-Afrobeats”.

Awards and Recognitions

• DJ Cuppy won the Nigerian Entertainment Award in 2015 for the Best Female DJ.
• DJ Cuppy and her sister Temi Otedola, were once featured in a British Documentary titled “Lagos to London: Britain’s New Super Rich”

DJ Tour

In 2015, Cuppy went on her first DJ tour tagged “Cuppy Takes Africa” to 8 countries in Africa including Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana.

Notable DJ Performances

She’s performed at the following events around the world;

• SXSW Festival in Texas, United States.
• 2015 Oil Barons Charity event in Dubai, becoming the first African act to perform at the event.
• Tattlers and Christie’s Art Ball in London.
• The Financial Times Luxury Summit in Mexico City.
• Uncommon Sense with Charlamagne on MTV 2.
• She was the official disc jockey of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Inaugration Ceremony in 2015.
• In 2014, DJ Cuppy was the resident DJ at the MTV Africa Music Awards in Durban, South Africa.

Philantrophy

DJ Cuppy launched her self-titled Foundation in 2018 and by the following year, she had already organized a Golden Gala that crowdfunded over N5Billion naira to support the “Save The Children Foundation”. She had the support of Nigeria’s richest man and Billionaire, Dangote who donated heavily to the cause.

Controversies

DJ Cuppy had overtime been subject to varying degrees of criticisms by fans and industry watchers. Part of their shades are anchored on the fact that she does “bad music”, and she should simply focus on her disc jockeying and abandon music for those who know how to do it better. She had often reacted to her critics with positive vibes and kept on releasing more music that are met with more thumbs down.

Her lavish lifestyle which she flaunts on social media especially her new Pink House in London and her expensive dogs which she refers to as her kids has also gotten her more dissing than she bargained for.

In early 2021, DJ Cuppy was blocked on all social media platforms by singer Zlatan who claimed the singer didn’t pay him his cut for featuring in her single “Gelato” and performing alongside her in a fundraiser in Abuja for her Cuppy Foundation.

Deals and Endorsements

• In 2014, DJ Cuppy was appointed as the Tourism Ambassador for “Fascinating Nigeria” campaign by the Nigerian Minister for Culture and Tourism, Edem Duke.
• In 2014, she bagged a deal as a brand ambassador for Pepsi alongside 3 other Nigerian music stars.
• In 2018, she became the Official DJ Ambassador for Pepsi and appeared on the Pepsi’s “#NaijaAllTheWay” all stars commercial in build-up to the 2018 World Cup.
• Same 2018, she was appointed as the Ambassador to Global Citizen Education and for Save The Children UK.
• Just last month in July, 2021 she was appointed as the Ambassador for Lagos SDGs Youth Alliance.