Titi Kuti: I have been creative, expressive from a young age

Titi Kuti is an actor, producer, presenter and model. He is a graduate of Industrial Relations and Personnel Management from Lagos State University.

Kuti made his debut in the entertainment and media industry as an undergraduate. He developed an interest in modelling and did a lot of runway shows for fashion brands, billboards and TV adverts. More appropriately described as a multi-talented professional, with vast relevance in production administration, TV series production and management, he featured in Kemi Adetiba’s movie, King of Boys as Ade Tiger. In this interview with IJEOMA THOMAS-ODIA, he shares his passion for being creative.

Your role in King of Boys made you a household name, what prepared you for this?
IT is definitely hard work, dedication, grace and selfless thinking. I never thought of myself alone when I was filming King of Boys. I thought of the industry as a whole and positioning globally post-filming.

You also delivered your role skillfully, creatively and passionately, how did you develop this skill?
I took time to absorb the character, created a mental picture of the image and personaIised the lines with the description from the character ‘bible’ and built on it. I spent four weeks absorbing, developing and amplifying the character.

What is your attraction to acting?
I am attracted to the media creative profession in general; acting is one arm of it, that gives me the opportunity to be part of a collection of people (actors) who celebrate our indigenous narratives on television by creating experiences with our performances.

Share with us you’re growing up and how it influenced your passion for your craft?
I grew up here in Lagos; a part of Lagos island and also in Surulere, always been creative from a young age and very expressive. I used to reap my jeans myself and wear tops with safety pin designs, which is how I got into modelling, and then television as a presenter and producer of Nigezie TV, and the story continues from there.

You are quite versatile in the entertainment industry, how do you combine these roles?
I took every role I played (both on-screen and off-screen) in every sector of the industry as a learning opportunity and I remained steadfast with an open mind. All for the love of the craft, as long as I am creating something that is adding value to the industry, I am fulfilled

What are you currently working on?
Personal projects and other filming projects; I am not letting the cat out of the bag yet.

How would you define your style?
Uniquely describes who I am.

What does fashion mean to you?
Fashion is expression. A statement made without words, a description of who we individually are through what we wear, a perception of how we want to be portrayed and perceived through what we wear. It is complex, dynamic, but quite amazing.

What is your favourite outfit?
I love how our African Fabrics creatively resonates.

What is your favourite local dish?
I have several of them, but on top of the list is probably Efo Iro and Iyan. I never go wrong with that combination.

What key lessons have you learned so far?
Consistency and hard work often go hand in hand and Bad energy is your greatest enemy.

Describe Titi in three words
Simple, bold and adventurous

What changes do you hope to see in the industry?
I hope to see more indigenous narratives and language inclusion. We are not doing badly so far, but more language inclusion and cultural representation would continue to take us further. The eyes of the world are on us, it is what they want to see and hear

What is your philosophy of life?
Your passion will lead you to your purpose, show up every day and the universe will do its own part. Live easy.