Florence Ifeoluwa Otedola (born 11 November 1992), professionally known as DJ Cuppy, or simply Cuppy, is a Nigerian disc jockey and producer. She is the daughter of Nigerian businessman

Femi Otedola Femi Otedola (born 4 November 1962) is a Nigerian businessman, philanthropist, and former chairman of Forte Oil PLC, an importer of fuel products. Otedola is the founder of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd, and the owner of a number of other busin ...

. She grew up in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

and moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

at the age of 13.

Early life and education

Cuppy lived in Ilupeju for six years before moving to

Ikeja Ikeja is the capital city of Lagos State in southwestern Nigeria. Its population, as of the 2006 census, is 313,196. Prior to the emergence of military rule in the early 1980s, Ikeja was a well planned, clean and quiet residential and commercia ...

where she attended

Grange School, Ikeja , motto_translation = A culture of Continuous Improvement , streetaddress = 2 Harold Shodipo Crescent , region = GRA Ikeja , city = Lagos , county = Lagos Mainland , state = Lagos State , country = Nigeria , coordinates = , schooltype ...

. She then relocated to

for her GCSEs and A-Levels. She graduated from King's College London in July 2014, with a degree in business and economics. She also earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in music business from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

in 2015. As from October 2021, Cuppy is enrolled and pursuing a master's degree in

African Studies African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's history (pre-colonial, colonial, post-colonial), demography ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

Career

In 2014 Cuppy was the resident DJ at the

MTV Africa Music Awards The MTV Africa Music Awards (also known as the MAMAs) were established in 2008 by MTV Networks Africa (now Viacom International Media Networks Africa) to celebrate the most popular contemporary music in Africa. The 2008 and 2010 events took pla ...

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. She then played at the Tatler and Christie's Art Ball in London, and at the Financial Times Business of Luxury Summit in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

. In July 2014, she released ''House of Cuppy'' as her first compilation mix in London and Lagos, before launching it in New York on 2 September 2014. With House of Cuppy, she produced EDM-esque remixes of songs by leading afropop artists. That same year, Cuppy also launched the London-based music management and content production business, Red Velvet Music Group. In January 2015, Cuppy was featured on the cover of the ''Guardian Life'' magazine. The cover celebrated a new generation of African women. In March 2015, Cuppy was named the official DJ for the 2015 Oil Barons Charity in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, and became the first African act to perform at the event. She was featured in the 2015 April/May issue of ''Forbes Woman Africa''. In June 2015, Cuppy released House of Cuppy II. In August 2015, Cuppy set off on her first DJ tour to 8 countries in Africa, titled “Cuppy Takes Africa”. She visited

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

, Rwanda,

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. The “Cuppy Takes Africa” tour included performances, major artist collaborations, and charitable engagements supported by GTB Bank and the Dangote Foundation. Later that year, she interned at Jay-Z's

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, mana ...

. In October 2016, the "Cuppy Takes Africa" tour aired on Fox Life Africa as an 8-episode documentary series. In 2016, Cuppy was the resident DJ for MTV2's Uncommon Sense with Charlamagne Tha God. She produced two songs, "Vibe" and "The way I am", which appeared on the "Afrobeats" EP by Young Paris which as released on 24 March 2017. On 13 October 2017, she released "Green Light", her first official single. The song features guest vocals from Nigerian singer and producer Tekno. On 30 March 2018, she released "Vybe", her second official single. The song features guest vocals from Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie. On 24 August 2018, she released Currency, her third official single featuring L.A.X. On 5 October 2018, she released Werk, her fourth single featuring Skuki. On 19 April 2019, she collaborated with

Kwesi Arthur Emmanuel Kwesi Danso Arthur Junior (born 18 December 1994), known professionally as Kwesi Arthur, is a Ghanaian rapper, singer and songwriter from Tema, Ghana. He rose to fame in 2017 with the hit single "Grind day" which received wide spread a ...

for her fifth single Abena On 16 August 2019, she released Gelato, here sixth single featuring

Zlatan Zlatan ( sr-Cyrl, Златан) is a male given name of Slavic origin meaning ''Golden''. The name is common amongst all South Slavic countries, namely in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia. The name is found i ...

. In 2020, Cuppy was inducted into the Forbes Magazine's 30 under 30 class. On 28 May 2020, she became the host of ‘Africa Now Radio’ on Apple Music Beats 1 On 16 July 2020, she released Jollof On The Jet, her seventh single featuring Rema &

Rayvanny Raymond Shaban Mwakyusa (born 22 August 1993), better known by his stage name Rayvanny, is a Tanzanian musician, songwriter and recording artist who was signed under WCB Wasafi record label until July 2022. He was born and raised in Nzovwe ward ...

. On 24 August 2020, she unveiled her debut album ''Original Copy''. In February 2021, she partnered with

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...

to launch their first radio show in Africa. In September 2021, Cuppy was announced as one of the cast members for the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

reality TV show ''High Life'', a show focussing on the careers of British West Africans. From January until August 2022, Cuppy hosted the Sunday version of BBC Radio 1Xtra's breakfast show with the Saturday one hosted by Swarzy formerly of Kiss Radio. They both replaced Remi Burgz, who went on to replace

Yasmin Evans Yasmin Evans (born 27 October 1990) is an English television and radio presenter. She is best known for presenting on BBC Radio 1Xtra (2012–2021). She's also known for presenting on CBBC's '' Saturday Mash-Up!'' (2017–2019), Heart Radio (fr ...

on 1Xtra's weekday lunchtime show.

Artistry

In an interview with ''

Tush Magazine Tush Magazine is a Nigerian-based glossy full colour magazine which is released quarterly both in print and digital versions of the magazine. It targets the youth market and its contents include articles, coverage and interviews which focus on mus ...

'', Cuppy described her sound as "Neo-Afrobeats", which is a fusion of

Electro house Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 130 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including Benny Benassi, Skrillex, Steve Aok ...

and Afrobeats.

Personal life

Veganism

On 14 April 2020, DJ Cuppy revealed on Twitter that she was a vegan. Lately, Cuppy who during the COVID-19 period received a special gift of a Ferrari Portofino worth ₦80M from her father, also announced that she is now a house owner in the United Kingdom, London which she named PinkPentHouse. She made it public on 8 April 2021. This received a lot of reactions on social media and was featured on MTV Cribs.

Relationships

In November 2022, Cuppy got engaged on stage to Youtuber/BMX Rider Ryan Taylor. The pair have since married and live together in Dubai.

Philanthropy

In July 2018, Cuppy launched the Cuppy Foundation. The following year (November 2019), the foundation organized the Gold Gala and raised over N5bn for the

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

initiative Nigeria. Nigerian business Dangote and her father donated to the cause.

Ambassadorship

In April 2014, Cuppy was appointed by Nigeria's Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation (Edem Duke) as the tourism ambassador for the country's "Fascinating Nigeria" campaign. Cuppy became one of Pepsi's DJ ambassadors alongside 3 others in

. On 20 March 2018, Cuppy was announced as an Official DJ Ambassador for

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi wa ...

. She appeared in

's "#NaijaAllTheWay" all star commercial ahead of the 2018 World Cup. On 5 June 2018, Cuppy was announced as a Global Citizen Education Ambassador. On 28 November 2018, Cuppy was announced as an Ambassador For Save The Children UK. On 28 July 2021, Cuppy was announced as an Ambassador for Lagos SDGs Youth Alliance.

Discography

Album

Singles

References

53. Joshpedia (2022
DJ Cuppy Net worth and Biography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuppy, DJ BBC Radio 1Xtra presenters Nigerian record producers Nigerian DJs Nigerian women musicians 21st-century Nigerian musicians Living people Musicians from Lagos Alumni of King's College London New York University alumni Nigerian expatriates in England Otedola family Yoruba women musicians 1992 births 21st-century women musicians Nigerian women record producers Nigerian radio presenters Nigerian women radio presenters