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Element London / Heels & Rings Stylist’s own

You’ve got a huge audience across the globe – can you tell us more about your open-format DJ style and how you ultimately found your signature sound throughout your career? 

Absolutely! My audience I think is a testament to my authenticity. I’m really multifaceted and I started off as just a young girl born in Lagos, Nigeria, and I’ve now kind of become a woman with vision and my fans have followed me throughout, whether I’m DJing, whether I’m a student, whether I’m single, whether I’m engaged, whether I have hair, whether I have black hair, my fans just follow me through the journey. The whole ethos of my brand is just being your own unapologetic self, I love the quote of “You were born in this world as an original, so don’t become a copy.” My album is called Original Copy, and the idea behind that is to always morph, like I consider myself a sponge. So when I first started DJing in Nigeria as a 16-year-old, I was playing a certain style, I was suddenly kind of holding on to one type of music. And then I come to the UK, I’m like, “Oh my goodness.” There’s jungle, there’s drum and bass. And then you start to infuse that. Then I went to America where I got into hip hop and I lived in New York for two years when I was studying at NYU. And then now it’s like the Renaissance of Afro pop and then I’m using it. So the idea behind it is to really be open-minded and be a sponge so that you can learn things, you can develop and you can also add your own sprinkle on top of it. What’s great about DJ sets is they’re never ever the same. And I’m very unique. I mean, I was DJing the other night and I dropped the “Macarena.” I think I mixed the “Macarena” in with Megan Thee Stallion and it’s all about just expression and having fun and being able to go on a journey. I am 31 years old now and I find that I’m even becoming more open-minded. It’s your own path and there is no right or wrong way to do anything.

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I love that mindset, it’s so true. So did you ever listen back to your old, old mixes and you’re like, “Oh my god, I’ve come so far!” Or do you not do that at all?

That is a great question. I don’t know whether that would help me because, for example, I can refer to looking back at old reactions to situations and I did the best I could for me at the time. Perspective is an important thing. For example, maybe for an outfit, I’m like, “Well, how can one person put so much pink into one thing?” And actually at the time that serviced me and that was what I wanted. And so if I listened to a mix that I didn’t like, I think at the time I thought it was good enough and that’s okay. And actually, there’s no point kind of being hard on yourself because at the moment, at that time, it serves you. So I think having that lens is more protective. So if you’re going to go and criticise yourself, no, but if you’re going to go and say, “Maybe I want to redo that mix or something,” yeah, maybe that would work.

True, it’s all about what you want to achieve with it. Are you currently working on new mixes or music that you can share with us? 

Oh, yeah, I’m so excited. I am buzzing. I’m working on new music. All I have is a bunch of empty beats. I am still secretive about it. I don’t have featured artists. I don’t know what I want to make music about. My debut album, Original Copy, I think is five years old this year. And I had amazing experiences like working with Wyclef Jean, working with Rema, Julian Marley, Bob Marley’s son. It was just such a whirlwind of a project. And so I think five years later, as an artist, I’ve matured and I’m gonna do it differently where instead of maybe giving the artist the power, my featured artist, I wanna go with the vision. So I have no idea. I’m just listening to beats and instrumentals and finding producers I wanna work with, but I don’t know what I wanna make music about, because definitely not about love. I don’t think I’m someone who can advise nor direct people in that department. I am going to see what happens but I definitely know it is one thing being a DJ and playing music and being a DJ and playing your own music. 

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via 4 Element London @4elementlondon / Third necklace Yves Saint Laurent Vintage, all three via 4 Element London / Rings Stylist’s own

Aside from music, you are also a philanthropist – with your philanthropic efforts through The Cuppy Foundation raising $17 million for displaced children in Nigeria. What inspired you to start this foundation and what is your proudest achievement to date? 

I genuinely believe that I’ve been resourced so that I can also help others. I come from an extremely entrepreneurial family. So I know hard work does breed success. I’ve been able to travel the world and come to this country and experience first-class education. And that is such a blessing where I’m from. So I’m very grateful. I believe that I have to try and return that, and create those opportunities for others. So I’m really proud of what I’ve done at The Cuppy Foundation. My proudest philanthropic moment for certain is going to Oxford and thinking, “Right, I’m going to attain this degree,” but then actually realising my purpose for going to Oxford was to create The Cuppy Fund. That by far is my proudest moment.

Can you tell us more about the projects you’re currently doing through the Cuppy Foundation? 

Oh yes. We are teaming up with one of my favorite philanthropists called Vee. She also went to Oxford. We went to the same college and, I haven’t told anyone this, but Vee and I are throwing a huge event about empowerment in August in London, and it’s going to be amazing. I’m also looking forward to taking The Cuppy Fund not only to Oxford, but to other schools. And I was able to address the UN General Assembly last year, where I think I was the first to DJ at the UN and I look forward to going back this year again.

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That sounds super exciting! How do you balance your time between music, television, and your philanthropic work?

I mean, I burnt out before. So it’s really important for me to say this to readers: you have to make sure that you take care of yourself. I remember last year was really stressful. I remember having Monday to Friday at Oxford University. Saturday was DJing gigs, and Sunday was 7 am on BBC Radio. And whilst that probably seemed cool, I was hashtagging, #wemove. I was really, really, really burnt out and exhausted and actually was in a very dark place. And so it’s really important to make sure that you take it as it comes. I am talking to you right now, doing this interview from bed, and that is perfectly okay because I had a photo shoot yesterday. I’m not going to keep myself down. And it’s really important to look at your own path and not compare yourself to others. I’m sure there are amazing people out there who woke up at 6 am and have been in the gym already. But it’s about being content and being okay. And that’s fine.

I totally agree, and guess what, I am doing this interview from bed too! Speaking of being busy, you are also an ambassador for Tate Modern. What motivated you to become a Young Patron’s ambassador for them, and how do you see art influencing your work and philanthropy?

I love the Tate. And one of the things I’m really passionate about is The Tate Collective. Now The Collective is essentially like a fund where we allow people from less privileged backgrounds to experience what art can do. Art is healing and even though my favorite form of art is music, the actual absorption of art is amazing. The Tate is a fantastic place. It’s free for all. I’ve been able to join the Young Patrons Board and come across people who are from different worlds and fall in love with it. Sometimes art is a medium that you don’t have to express. You know, in my head I’m like, “Okay, I need to make music, I need to play music.” But actually, sitting down and absorbing and trying to take in the message from an artist through art is a beautiful thing. Also particularly at the Tate Collective and with my ambassadorship, I try my best to push African artists and whatever is relevant to our culture. And so we are going through a phase where people are rediscovering and I guess re-emphasizing the diversity of the UK. And you know, anything African is hot. So our fashion, our music and also our art. I’m really excited and it’s been fun being part of the Tate. I’ve DJed there and I’ve been able to meet curators and we have some really big plans next year for one of our largest curations of African art. So I’m really excited and I just encourage readers to go and check it out. It’s free to visit and it’s an immersive experience. We have some pretty cool bars and restaurants there. There’s also Tate Britain on the bank as well, which is sort of more Renaissance art, but yeah, they’re both very cool.

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Oh, that sounds super cool. I will be sure to check it out. Who are your favorite African artists? 

That’s a really good question. One of my favorite artists is, I think Bruce Obomeyoma, he’s much older now, but he has art everywhere. He’s in the Tate Modern, he’s in Sweden. He is just someone that I’m inspired by because he was discovered through the British Council.

Then also you have, well I like to call him my uncle, but you have someone who actually is in London and very accessible, and that is Lanre Olangoke. He’s amazing because he has this phenomenal story. He’s a self-taught painter, he basically was able to conquer addiction and, he was on the King’s Honour List. He does something really cool called the Soho Art Spare. And he’s got a studio just on Carnaby Street. And I think another sort of modern example would be, I mean, everyone calls him Oluwasleun. He’s the youngest person to design the Britannia statue for the Brit Awards. He’s a painter. He’s unapologetic. He debuted his first collection with Skepta at Sotheby’s. I think it was last year. Actually, he owes me an art piece, haha. But yeah, I’m very specific when it comes to supporting Nigerian artists.

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Oh amazing, I will check them out! Undoubtedly, your journey is incredibly inspiring for young individuals around the world. What advice do you have for those looking to make a positive impact in their communities, both in the music industry and beyond?

First of all, you know, we want to go and help people create impact. But what comes to my head is, when you’re on the plane and they say before you help someone else with their oxygen mask, you have to help yourself. One of the first things I realised is, to help yourself so you also can help others. So what does that mean? That means that you have to rise by lifting others. So you need to be in a stable place. You need to be in a place where you can pull others up. I refer to my burnout last year. There’s no way I would have been able to help others, I think I was more of a burden to others. I had to have help from my friends and my family. Anyone looking to make a positive impact in the community has to make sure that they can be relied on. So have yourself invest in yourself. You know, you create that discipline. You can’t be pushing people to focus on their strengths or complete that degree. If you haven’t done so yourself, be a person of your word. That sometimes means just not helping people at the time. Help people if you can help them. And of course, the second part of that is pushing yourself to go through doors, but keeping those doors open. That’s so important! I think especially for me as a Black woman, it was important to not just go to Oxford and have a nice shiny degree that my mum can put up in the living room. It was important so I could start a fund that can help tens and tens of thousands. 

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