DJ Cuppy Becomes Apple Music’s Pioneer show host
Apple Music is launching its first radio show in Africa on Sunday, with its host being DJ Cuppy, whose real name is Florence Ifeoluwa Otedola.
The streaming platform announced, yesterday, that ‘Africa Now Radio with Cuppy’ will debut Sunday and feature a mix of contemporary and traditional popular African sounds, including genres as latest African sounds, be it amapiano, afrobeats, highlife, alte, house, hip-hop, afrobongo, or kuduro and more.
Listeners will hear the latest and greatest African artists and new forms of African popular music which fuse traditional and contemporary sensibilities, morphing into hybridized sonic fragments connecting all corners of Africa.
Cuppy, the Nigerian-born DJ and music producer, will host the weekly one-hour show, which will be available at 9 a.m. EDT.
“The show represents a journey from West to East and North to South, but importantly a narrative of Africa then to Africa now,” Cuppy said in a statement.
African music and artists have found success outside of the continent and onto the pop charts in both the U.S. and U.K. in recent years.
Acts like Drake and Beyoncé have borrowed the sound for their own songs, while performers like South African DJ Black Coffee as well as Davido, Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Wizkid and Mr Eazi — all with roots in Nigeria — continue to gain attention and have become household names.
Apple Music’s announcement came the same week Universal Music Group said it was launching Def Jam Africa, a new division of the label focused on representing hip-hop, Afrobeat and trap talent in Africa.
The label said it will be based in Johannesburg and Lagos but plans to sign talents from all over the continent. The deal is said to be worth seven digit figure.
Cuppy, the celebrity DJ daughter of Nigerian billionaire, Femi Otedola, is unstoppable. and by this deal, she is bringing the world to Africa as she is now the face and voice behind Apple Music’s new radio show called ‘Africa Now’.
Apple Music is a global music platform with 60 million listeners from over 160 countries worldwide, including 30 countries in Africa alone.
Cuppy has been on the rise and in her DJ and music producing career earning important endorsements. Her deal with global giant like Apple is, indeed, her a crowning endorsement.
Cuppy was quoted in the statement released by Apple as saying she is excited about the radio show:
She said: “I’m excited not only to play music but also showcase the vast array of talented artists cultivating the music scene on the continent!
“There are so many rich textures and sounds in Africa and the time is now for the world to embrace our diversity. Each and every week, I’ll be bringing a dynamic guide to discovering and celebrating the biggest and best sounds from across Africa, the Motherland. It will be entertainment at its best, Cuppy style!”
On the debut episode, Nigerian producer, Kiddominant – known for producing African hits such as Davido’s “Fall” and AKA’s “Fela In Versace” – joins Cuppy via FaceTime. He tells Apple Music about his new single ‘eWallet’ featuring South African superstar rapper Cassper Nyovest and taken from his forthcoming debut album due for release in the second half of 2020. South African actress and ‘Queen Sono’ lead character Pearl Thusi calls in to share her favorite African proverb and current favorite African song.