Oluwamodupe “Dupe” Oloyede, a theater scholar, at FAMU, and the head drum major of the world-renowned Marching “100,” made a surprise appearance during the opening number of the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday night. Oloyede joined an eclectic lineup of music legends and rising stars, including blues icons Buddy Guy and Bobby Rush, rock guitarist Brittany Howard, ballerina Misty Copeland, DJ DNice and actors Jayme Lawson and Li Jun Li asthey transformed the stage of the Dolby Theatre into a vibrant Mississippi juke joint to pay homage to the film “Sinners” with a performance of "I Lied To You".
“It felt like every part of my training came together at once,” Oloyede said in an interview after the ceremony. “The discipline from the band field, the storytelling from the stage, it was all there. To help tell that story, of how the blues is the root of so much of our music, was an incredible honor.”
The inclusion of a student performer from an HBCU in such a prominent role was widely noted as a significant gesture. It acknowledged the cultural pipelines that institutions like FAMU represent, often nurturing talent that fuels broader artistic movements without always receiving mainstream recognition.
“Seeing 'Dupe' on that stage was a moment of immense pride for the entire FAMU community,” said Valencia Mathews, Dean, College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities. “She embodies the excellence, versatility, and leadership we strive to instill in all our students. Her performance was not just a personal achievement; it was a representation of a legacy.”
While the song “I Lied to You,” composed by Raphael Saadiq, who also performed, lost the Oscar for Best Original Song. For many viewers, the powerful opening number was its own victory.
“The performance was about tracing a lineage,” said Tricia Rose, Ph.D., director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America at Brown University. “Including a drum major from an HBCU, an institution that has been a custodian of Black musical tradition for over a century, was a brilliantly authentic choice. It grounded the performance in a real, living culture.”
For Oloyede, a graduating senior, the surreal experience has already begun to strengthen her understanding of her own path. “This showed me that the stage can be anywhere—a field, a theatre, or the Oscars,” she said. “The story is what connects them all.”