FAMU’s first woman head drum major prepares for her next act in London

After becoming the first woman to lead Florida A&M University’s renowned Marching 100, Oluwamodupe “Dupe” Oloyede is preparing for her next performance in Europe.

In September, Oloyede — who performed in a musical number at the 98th Academy Awards and was featured in an exhibit at the College Football Hall of Fame — will begin classes at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

“I feel very grateful. I feel like (there’s) a new wave of energy,” Oloyede said. “I should use this momentum to chase after what I aspire.”

In 2025, the Atlanta native took command of FAMU’s Marching 100, becoming the celebrated band’s first woman head drum major.

In July, Essence magazine recognized her as a trailblazer within the HBCU community.

Oluwamodupe “Dupe” Oloyede, the FAMU Marching 100 head drum major, stands at attention ahead of the halftime performance at Homecoming on Oct. 18. 2025. (Tia Mitchell/AJC)

Oloyede graduated from FAMU this spring with a degree in theater. Her interest in international performance and storytelling had already taken her beyond American stages and traditions.

Before her senior year in college, Oloyede trained in London through the British American Drama Academy’s Black British Theatre program. The academy also trained the late actor Chadwick Boseman.

The program incorporated the history of the African diaspora into its curriculum, giving Oloyede the opportunity to explore Black stories from across the world.

Raised by Nigerian parents while growing up in DeKalb County, she was immersed in Yoruba culture at home while navigating American customs beyond it.

“It’s a microcosm of having a very Nigerian experience inside an American world,” said Oloyede’s older sister, Stella Oloye.

Oloyede said studying with British professors in a program centered on the African diaspora deepened her understanding of her own Black identity.

FAMU's first woman head drum major Oluwamodupe "Dupe" Oloyede stands with her family at her 8th grade graduation from Chapel Hill Middle School in 2017. From L-R: Sister Joy, brother Babajide, Dupe, mother Edith, sister Stella. (Courtesy of Stella Oloye)

“This beautiful triangle, I like to call it,” Oloyede said. “How America is influencing the UK, Africa is influencing all three, and we’re all just influencing each other in our stories of being people in the diaspora.”

Stella Oloye described the family’s move from Ilé-Ifẹ̀ in Nigeria’s Osun State as a “quintessential immigrant experience,” marked by hardship and a constant struggle to establish themselves in the United States.

FAMU's first woman head drum major Oluwamodupe "Dupe" Oloyede stands with the women in her family for her mother's 60th birthday in 2020. From L-R: Dupe, mother Edith, sister Stella, sister Joy. (Courtesy of Stella Oloye)

She said she had fewer opportunities to explore her own creativity because the family was focused on surviving in a new country. As the youngest sibling, however, Oloyede was “afforded the opportunity” to pursue an artistic path.

Stella Oloye added that her sister modeled her work ethic after their mother.

Oluwamodupe “Dupe” Oloyede, the first female head drum major at Florida A&M University, and her mother Edith (left) look at an exhibit featuring Dupe at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

That support helped give Oloyede the freedom to pursue the artistic training that will now take her back to London.

At LAMDA, Oloyede will begin with a semester-long course in classical acting. The course will focus on heightened texts, including centuries-old works whose language and themes actors learn to interpret for contemporary audiences.

“In contemporary work, I can do anything,” Oloyede said. “But in a Shakespearean piece, it’s different. If you can master classical acting, you can do anything.”

Calling her “a light in the darkness,” Stella Oloye said she believes Oloyede’s ambitions will continue to grow.

“I seek to encourage her fearlessness, her tenacity, to where even when she doubts what’s possible, she hears a very clear voice that cogently tells her everything works out in your favor,” Stella Oloye said.

The FAMU Marching 100 drum majors have been given the name “Magnificent VII” this season. Head drum major Oluwamodupe “Dupe” Oloyede, the first woman to hold the title, is in the center. (Tia Mitchell/AJC)

After completing the course, Oloyede will decide whether to continue her performance training or begin working professionally in the arts.