DJ Cuppy is mixing it up

This article is from the 'Firm Foundations' issue of InTouch, your alumni magazine. Read the full publication here.

Florence Ifeoluwa Otedola (Business Management, 2014), known to most as DJ Cuppy, talks to us about combining music with philanthropy, her time at King's and her recent royal appointment.

Since graduating, Cuppy has performed all over the world, been featured in Forbes' 30 under 30 and founded the Cuppy Foundation, which empowers young people to reach their potential through education. Most recently, Cuppy was announced as The King’s Trust’s (formerly The Prince’s Trust) first ever International Ambassador, supporting the organisation in its efforts to reduce global youth unemployment.

Join us as we chat with Cuppy about what motivates her philanthropic work, where she finds her passion for education, and her advice for new students at King’s.

It was King’s or nothing!

‘A lot of people don’t know this, but I actually didn’t get accepted onto the course I wanted. But I loved King’s so much, I put it for all three options on my UCAS form. It was King’s or nothing!

‘When you come to university, especially for your undergraduate degree, it's a partnership. It’s your home, your safe space, your challenger, your motivator in every way.

‘King’s is so multidisciplinary, a strength you don’t see in every school. And it also has a reputation for being really multicultural. Being a Nigerian teenager, this was really important to me. I wanted to go somewhere where I could get a world class education, but also explore my other hobbies and figure out what I wanted to do.’

This multidisciplinarity is something Cuppy has carried with her since graduating. Since leaving King’s, Cuppy has earned two master's degrees; in Music Business from New York University, and in African Studies from the University of Oxford. We asked Cuppy what inspired her to take on these academic challenges:

‘Because I had the opportunity for a great education, I thought “I am not only going to do it once. I am going to get the full experience. And get it from different places, from different perspectives, and in different disciplines”.’

And she isn’t stopping there. ‘I do see a PhD in my future. It would make sense and it would be fascinating if I could bring together and research everything I have learnt. It is something I am very seriously exploring.’

A philanthropist doesn’t set out to be a philanthropist, they set out to help

Throughout her academic career, Cuppy has always seen education as a privilege.

‘I was the first generation to go to university. My mother and father didn’t go, my grandparents didn’t go. I now understand how much education is a privilege.’ This appreciation of education and the impact it can have, has been the driving force of Cuppy’s philanthropic work.

Established in 2018, The Cuppy Foundation harnesses the power of education to help young people reach their full potential. We spoke to Cuppy about how she discovered philanthropy, and how this led to starting her own organisation.

‘Education led me to philanthropy. I hadn’t decided to be a philanthropist, but my access to education made me realise it is such an important tool. It's essential. I thought, “wow, I had this privilege to learn in some of the best places in the world, I have to extend that and make sure people have the same opportunity in their own communities.” That’s the thing about education, it’s something you can share.

‘I started out in philanthropy very casually, paying people’s school fees back home in Nigeria. It turned into something a lot bigger. I think a philanthropist doesn’t set out to be a philanthropist, they set out to help. I wanted to help as many people as I could, for as long as I could, as well as I could. An organic structure came from there.’

Philanthropy is a huge part of Cuppy’s life, she jokes: ‘My team and I struggle because I want to help everyone.’

If you want to stop cycles of disadvantage, education is key

Cuppy’s work is not limited to what she achieves through the Foundation. She also partners with international organisations such as Save the Children, where Cuppy tells us she wears a lot of hats. ‘I am so proud to be an ambassador. And I am also a board member and founding member of their Women’s Network and their African Advisory Board.’

Cuppy also recently spoke at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, where she was invited to moderate and introduce the fourth UN Youth Action Day. She tells us, ‘education is the main thing I wanted to talk about. There is so much important humanitarian work happening. But actually, if you want to stop cycles of disadvantage, education is such a key part of it. It is always something I push to the forefront. It is always the one thing I focus on.’

I think being a woman is a superpower

All of Cuppy’s work is informed by her background. ‘When I talk about the privilege of education, I am talking specifically as a Nigerian woman. In Nigeria, education is not accessible, a lot of women struggle.’

These disparities are something Cuppy is committed to changing. ‘I think that, because of women’s amazing collaborative minds, and the fact that we are so good at wearing so many hats, if you can educate them, the results are unbelievable. At King’s, I had an amazing lecturer who used to talk about the fact that she was a mother as well as an academic. Throughout my time at King’s, I had all of these inspirations talking about how you don’t have to conform to one box.

‘I think that being a woman is a superpower. And an educated woman is unstoppable.’

Have an open mind, and an open heart

Cuppy credits her time at King’s with helping her find her purpose. ‘If I compare my first day at King’s with my last day at King’s, I changed so much as a person. My ambitions changed, my priorities changed. It is really important to be open to change, and I think King’s really forces you to do that. That is what I love about this university.’ In recognition of the impact of her time here, Cuppy will be announcing a new project with King's in the coming weeks.

And her words of wisdom for people wanting to follow in her footsteps? ‘I would advise anyone who is about to go on this journey to have an open mind, and an open heart. If I had only had my thinking hat on and I hadn’t followed my heart, I wouldn’t have been able to be so fluid.’

Her final piece of advice: ‘Look up. Look outside your textbooks, look outside what you are learning, look around you, look at the city you are in, look at the real world, and put yourself in a position where you can be someone who can change something. It doesn’t have to be now, you don’t have to have all the answers but look at how you can be a problem solver.’