The Pains and Gains of Being Femi Otedola’s Daughter

Warm, confident, humble, and creative, with a good head for business, she has revolutionised the craft of generating sound that makes people hit the dance floor. Within a short while, she’s stood like a colossus in a male-dominated field. Although born wi

You recently collaborated with Tekno. What informed that? I am really excited about my new project Green Light with launched three weeks ago. It’s my first official single. It’s exciting for me because I decided to move back to Nigeria, and I’ve decided that this is where I want to make home having lived abroad for a long time. As for disc jockeying, I’ve been working hard building my brand and I feel it’s time to make my original g sound. For a lot of DJs, J, they collaborate te with artistes. I chose Tekno because he is an amazing, creative, always making great music. I value him a lot. We’ve always wanted d to work together and this happened to be e the project we embarked on; I am really proud of it. I think it’s a great song. We wrote te and co-produced it. And I’m really happy; py; I woke up this morning to a million views s on YouTube. I fell the song is doing well and d I’m proud of it.

What’s the idea behind ‘Greenlight’?

‘Greenlight’ ’ signifies moving forward. I am using green en light as an indication of moving forward ard to the next level. It signifies a change in my y position.

With the Tekno collaboration, would you still be a Disc Jockey?

Yes. People know I sang a bit on the song and that’s a way of expressing me. I am foremost a DJ, and my ambition is to remain a DJ. The plan is to infuse my music into my set. I love my country, is my cover of an original song by Tunji Oyelana. That’s the way I entered the market. I look back and feel the project was great, patriotic, as it came at a time when Nigeria was going through rough times. It was an opportunity to talk about old songs young people don’t know about. I think it was a great way to come out because it was different. Greenlight is the sound I love - it’s Afrobeat. I really y love Nigeria. g

You are moving from being just a DJ to producing music. How much of house music should people expect?

I love House music and that comes from living abroad. Having spent my last year in London, everyone loves Nigerian music. There’s never been a time Afro music has been on such a pedestal. When I first started to DJ, I used to be scared to play Nigerian music abroad because they’ll book me for shows and expect me to play their music. Over the last five years, everything has changed and people will book me abroad, and say they want just Nigerian music. Sometimes you have to break the rules. I’m so proud of where it’s come and the fact that I can fuse both, and don’t have to worry about playing music from all countries.

What’s the unique essence of being a DJ, as opposed to being an artiste?

DJ’s get a lot more opportunities to express ourselves, as we are not restricted to our own songs. I feel like I get to eat my cake and have it. I play other peoples’ songs and mine. I have more control over my creativity. I have a lot more catalogue I can get away with, and I think it’s amazing.

The BBC documentary on you seems to have py put you on the global stage. What opportunities have come through as a result of that?

I did the BBC documentary titled, ‘Lagos in London’. They followed me and other Nigerians. I did a lot of school visits. Took them to Epe where I am a from. It was great piece globally broadcast. It helped me not only in Nigeria but in London. I would walk on the streets of London and people would stop me. It was important for people to understand that despite being from Nigeria while living in the UK, we still have our heritage and are proud of what we do. I, however, wasn’t happy with the piece because they’ve really decided to show one side of my character in particular. I was happy they showed for once, educated, exposed, Nigerians living abroad. I watch TV in the UK and the US, and unfortunately, they y show bad images g of Nigerians. g I wasn’t happy with the perception that I was discjockeying because it was fun to do and that I didn’t take my job seriously.

DJ Cuppy takes Africa. What’s the idea?

It’s a personal show I am very proud of because my company produces the show for fox around eight countries in Africa, and it was me telling my stories, the struggle, highs and lows. For once, I got to show the world I am not perfect. Maybe because of my father, a lot of people assume everything runs smoothly all the time but it’s not so. Sometimes good, some are bad. My work takes a lot of mental discipline, work and stress. The show has helped increase my popularity in Africa. The project is huge, as it takes 30 people across Africa. I did it in 2015, there were financial problems, but things haven’t picked up since the project is heavily dependent on sponsors and partners. With green light and some of the things I am doing, I am sure by summer of 2018, I’ll be in great position to do it again.

Are you making enough money from disc jockeying?

I am making money. It’s important to make money. Am I running at a profit? No. I make a personal choice of branding myself, so I have higher costs than a lot of people because I put a lot of my money into my business. With everything I do, I have a reputation for doing things differently. The reality is that I

I love House music and that comes from living abroad. Having spent my last year in London, everyone loves Nigerian music. There’s never been a time Afro music has been on such a pedestal. When I first started to DJ, I used to be scared to play Nigerian music abroad because they’ll book me for shows and expect me to play their music