Saheed Osupa

Born in Ajegunle, an underclass suburb in Lagos, Saheed Osupa is a prominent fuji musician. His father was a musician in the ‘were’ genre and his brother dabbled with music as well. A child of the late sixties, Osupa’s singing career began in 1983. His first album Fuji Fadisco was, however, released in 1992. Since then he has released over a dozen albums. Osupa obtained an ordinary national degree from the Polytechnic of Ibadan.

He pursued other degrees in the US. According to the artist, “When I travelled to the United States of America, I studied Networking Operations and a bit of programming. I also got some knowledge on Computer Repairs at Manhattan, New York Centre of American International College.”

In 2008, fuji great Dr Sikiru Ayinde Barrister named Osupa ‘King of music’, making tense an already fraught rivalry with Pasuma, the other prominent contemporary fuji artist. Osupa receives praise for his sticking to the traditional fuji sound. (Pasuma, his rival, has tried to infuse hiphop into the genre.) In 2014, Osupa released hip-hop song Vanakula.