After winning a singing contest by MTN called MTN Yell’o Star in 2020, it was time for Oladotun Okeowo to fly. The graduate of Music Technology professionally goes by ‘DOTTi the Deity’, and according to him, so much intentionality went into its coinage.

 

“DOTTi is from my name, but then the ‘Deity’ came as when I was defining my style because I used to go by the name DOTTi Jones. DOTTi Jones is very Western. I had a very Western approach to my music, you know.”

 

 

But his name is only a window that reflects how much intentionality he generally puts into his art. From music creation, to songwriting and down to his lingua, even the blind can see how much DOTTi cares about his art.

 

We have a chat with the talent on his journey so far, what he thinks lies ahead and how much music means to him. This piece has been edited for length.

 

What does music mean to you? 

 

Do you want a very philosophical answer? 

 

Let’s start with the art, before we go into philosophy. 

 

Okay. Music is using sound to tell stories and relay your most felt emotions. But then, I can also take it deeper and just say that music is humans’ way of reverberating or, I would say, responding to earth’s vibrations.

 

Is this the music tech student in you talking? 

 

It’s everything. I’m just stating everything in general. So, yeah, it’s the knowledge that I have from school, but also what I’ve also noticed. It’s just what it is. The earth is always vibrating. So, everything, all of humans and everything, we vibrate in resonance to that.

 

Was music always the plan?

 

Well, I’d say that I realised that music was it for me early enough, but music wasn’t always the plan. I thought that I was going to become a surgeon or something like that, you know, as a child. My role model as a child was Dr. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti. At the time, he was the Minister for Health in Nigeria. 

 

So I thought I was going to be a doctor. So I read a book, it was a 50 page book. I don’t remember the title, but it was the first time I was reading anything about finding purpose and passion.

 

 

How did you come about the name DOTTi the Deity? 

 

DOTTi is from my name, but then the ‘Deity’ came as when I was defining my style because I used to go by the name DOTTi Jones. DOTTi Jones is very Western. I had a very Western approach to my music, you know.

 

I thought I was going to be a jazz vocalist, so it was jazz and soul for me. So it was DOTTi Jones. That name was perfect for that, but when I eventually realized that I wanted to be more traditional, more cultural, you know, when I had all that thinking of going back to my roots, singing in Yoruba and all of that, I realized that Jones didn’t fit, it was too Western.

 

So I first took off Jones and went by just DOTTi, but I thought that it wasn’t enough because I think there were other people that were already DOTTi, and I was always asked: ‘why are you always trying to be very sounding like orisa, and Babalawo music? So I was like, ‘oh, what’s the English version of that’? That’s the deity. 

 

“Love will challenge you, but it’s not a scam.

 

How did the industry treat you before Forever Sweet blew up and how has that changed or molded you now as a person and your journey thus far? 

 

I’d say that before it blew up, I already had a couple of giants in the industry as coaches that knew me and what I could do. 

 

Were they from the MTN YelloStar platform that you won? 

 

Even before the Yellow Star, some of these coaches would say to me ‘you can do pop, do pop’ you know, like ‘do pop. Pop is good, you’d kill it’. And I agree with them. I mean, I’d kill it if I did pop, but I didn’t think that I was called out to do that. I just wasn’t that guy that wanted to live a larger-than-life lifestyle. I have always wanted to make music true to my personality. Music that I would plug to myself, you know, not just for the consumers.

 

So yeah, initially, they didn’t take me seriously because I wasn’t doing pop. I’m grateful that Forever Sweet picked up. Shout out to the people that helped.

 

The collaborations on Madam Dearest are incredible. Tell us how the song with Reminisce happened.

 

It was a DM I had sent to him in January. That was the defining moment for my year, because usually in January, you are trying to figure out how the year is going to go – writing out your goals, what you want to achieve in your career, your plans, all of that. That was the phase I was in January, you know. Then Reminisce sent me a DM. I even thought it was one of these parody accounts. He got my number from me and let me know how I was doing a good job. He said he often begins every year by supporting a number of emerging artists and asked if I wanted that support.  

 

 

I’m like, ‘what? Are you playing? How will I say I don’t want you to support me? Who am I?’ Yeah, I went to his place, and since January, you know, the rest is history, he gave me a verse of my song. But beyond just giving me a verse, he had plugged me to a lot of industry guys. 

 

Would you call yourself a lover boy? 

 

Well, yes, I am, I am a lover boy. I love love. I really do love love.

 

So, love is not a scam for you? 

 

No, it’s not, it’s not. Of course, just like every other thing in life, there will be challenges, you know. Love will challenge you, but it’s not a scam.

 

Has it challenged you?

 

Yes, it will, it will shake you. It will test you, but it’s not a scam.

 

How best would you describe your music?

 

Easily, I’ll call it new-age folk, you know. Or if I wanted to put it in a more relatable subgenre, I would just call it Afro-soul.

 

Considering that you’re a lover boy, what’s love to you? 

 

Commitment, commitment, just commitment. Because, you know, when the butterflies are no longer there, what will keep you is commitment.

 

What’s it like making music that won’t necessarily be categorized as “mainstream”?

 

Oh, well, it makes me feel like I’m doing something that is special, you know, something that is needed, if you know what I mean. People realize that they need that sound. They don’t know they need it until they hear it. You can’t just be having carbs, you need protein too.