Ife Otedola, popular as DJ Cuppy, is going places. It may be hard to get rid of the toga of being a billionaire’s daughter, but the young woman is doing well in that direction.
The daughter of billionaire, Femi Otedola, who recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business from Kings College in the United Kingdom, was host DJ for the recently concluded MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA) that held in Durban, South Africa.
DJ Cuppy Otedola
“I am a female DJ, songwriter and a producer,” she told a gathering of journalists in Lagos on Wednesday.
DJ Cuppy, who only last year took her chosen career to a professional level, said she has been a DJ since before she turned 16.
“There are a lot of great things I want to do that are probably bigger than me. I started dee-jaying when I was about 16 years old. I got decks. I have always loved music. I guess I have always had school to balance as well. So, for me, it has always been about prioritising and I think education is very important,” she stated.
DJ Cuppy, who got her nickname from her love of cupcakes and is passionate about young people, said she has since started her company, which is into publishing and management.
“I am chasing my dreams. I started my own company, which does publishing and management, and Cuppy is really the baby of the company – the first brand. I do have a 10-year plan to grow up and be someone. I am also a pioneer for not only females and young people, but also Nigerians. So, that is very exciting and I guess looking at my journey now, I am not at a place where I just launched my compilation called House of Cuppy,” she explained.
The 21-year-old released her version of ‘I love Nigeria’ written by Wole Soyinka and performed by Tunji Oyelana in July, 2013.
“I sampled the chorus of ‘I love my country’. I think Nigeria as a country. Because of globalisation and how interlinked everything is, we are becoming more and more open to new sounds. So, for me, it was getting something that was very Nigerian, and I am making it something that anyone can listen to,” she said.
DJ Cuppy has also made a compilation of five of her favourite Nigerian songs in a CD titled House of Cuppy.