Dj Cuppy recently talked about her new record, ‘Green light’, a mellow Highlife record which features Tekno, who jointly wrote and produced it with her.
It’s the type of melodic record that sits comfortably on the playlist of DJs in the Lagos dance circuit. It has been crafted from the ‘Pon pon’ sound trend that dominated Nigerian pop music in 2017, which of course makes it very easy to talk about.
“Everyone says the sound comes and goes,” Cuppy shares, “But I feel like it’s a subgenre of its own. When we talk about sounds, it’s the West African Universal sound. You can hear it in Ghana and Nigeria. Tekno is very familiar with that formation, and it’s a great song.”
Cuppy has been DJ-ing in different cities across the world from 18 years old. The daughter of Nigerian oil tycoon and billionaire, Femi Otedola, she has experienced sound cultures around the world and recently concluded an internship at JAY-Z’s Roc Nation. This shows in her understanding of music, as underneath all of that celebrity lifestyle and charm, there’s a young woman who understands the science behind the music. She comes across as smart, and academic when she talks about records. “When I was working with Tekno who is very musical, we were talking about how certain songs work and others don’t.” She teaches, looking into the camera with eyes bright with excitement and passion. “When you create a record, there are certain frequencies that match up with each other and create a harmony.”
“House was a genre I was in love with mainly because I lived abroad for so long. I left Nigeria when I was 13 years old, and I got influenced by a lot of music outside.” She has since followed with another mix and toured selected African countries to spread the music and her brand. But at the moment, she is chasing ‘Neo Afrobeats’ her new sound. “I’m still working on my genre of Neo-Afrobeats, still trying to figure what the heck that is,” she shrugs. “I still feel like there’s this sound I’m going to find; this fusion of Afrobeats and Tropical House. I did a few remixes trying to find that Sound. I’m almost there, but I’m still figuring that out.”
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