Oluwatosin "Tosyn" Bucknor (15 August 1981 – 19 November 2018) was a Nigerian writer, singer-songwriter, radio and television host, social media content creator and a Vlogger who died of sickle cell anaemia. Until her death, she worked with Inspiration FM as a journalist and also ran ‘These Genes Project’ to help people with sickle cell anaemia.

Early life and education

Tosyn was born to Sola Bucknor and

Segun Bucknor Segun Bucknor (29 March 1946 – 11 August 2017) was a Nigerian musician and journalist active during the 1960s and 1970s. He was a pianist and guitarist specializing in genres ranging from soul music to pop music and to funk. Through their brief ...

, a musician, in a cab on 15 August 1981. She was sister to Funke Bucknor, CEO of Zapphaire Events. Tosyn attended Fountain Nursery and Primary School,

Queens' College Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the River Cam with the Mathematical Bridge an ...

Yaba,

University of Lagos The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a Public university, public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria, which was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the education in Nigeria#First generation universities, first generation universities in ...

(LLB) and the

Nigerian Law School The Nigerian Law School is an educational institution set up to provide professional certification to graduates of law. The school was established in Lagos under the Legal Education Act 1962, now Legal Education (Consolidation Etc) Act Cap. L1 ...

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

Campus (BL). She did her

National Youth Service Corps The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a mandatory, post-tertiary scheme set up by the Nigerian government during the military regime of Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, to "reconstruct, reconcile and rebuild the country after the Nigerian ...

Port Harcourt Port Harcourt (Pidgin: ''Po-ta-kot or Pi-ta-kwa)'' is the capital and largest city of Rivers State in Nigeria. It is the fifth most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos, Kano, Ibadan and Benin. It lies along the Bonny River and is locate ...

, opting to teach Literature-In-English and English at Archdeacon Crowther Memorial Girls' School, Elelenwo.

Career

Radio

Radio for Tosyn started with Tee A on Eko 89.7FM after which she interned at

Cool FM Nigeria Cool FM Nigeria is a Nigerian English-speaking radio station with frequencies across 4 of the 6 Geo-Political zones in Nigeria. It operates Cool TV and online radio. The radio station is pop and rock for adult audiences. In 2019, Cool FM hoste ...

where she hosted the Fun Hour Show on Saturdays. In 2009, Tosyn joined Top Radio 90.9 FM where she hosted the morning show, "Top Of The Morning" until 2017. She was the only female radio host handling the morning belt by herself. In 2018, Tosyn moved to join Inspiration FM, Lagos where she was until she passed. Apart from Radio, Tosyn was an avid podcaster. She created "OAP 101" for aspiring media personalities.

Music

Tosyn was a singer-songwriter with one album ('Pop Rock Soul and Jara'). Two of her songs have been used as soundtracks for the short film "Ireti". Tosyn wrote, sang, recorded and performed music as CON.tra.diction. As a recording artist and singer-songwriter, she has worked with artists like

Skales Raoul John Njeng-Njeng (born 1 April 1991), better known as Skales (an acronym for "Seek Knowledge Acquire Large Entrepreneurial Skills"), is a Nigerian rapper, singer and songwriter. In 2000, he started writing rap songs in Kaduna. Between 2 ...

, Rooftop MCs and Eva, as well as producers like Sess, Tintin, Coldflames, Dj Klem, Knighthouse, Micworx and Cobhams.

Music credits

– Performed at Naijazz, Laff and Jamz, Swe Hip hop Valentine, Muson Jazz Festival, Trip City and Friends, My Groovy Valentine, Wax Lyrical, Inspiration Fm Family Festival, Fashion Show at Rehab, One Soul's Album Launch, Music For Soul at Ember Creek, Koffi's Green Zone at Unilag, ONE MIC NAIJA. – Contributed a verse to the voter's awareness song organised by '1 Thumb' – CON.tra.diction did a cameo of ‘Sorry Song’ on Plumbline's video "Dead presidents" – Featured on Micworx Music E-mixes mixtape alongside

Darey Oluwadamilare Art Alade (born 9 February 1982), known professionally as Darey, formerly Dare Art Alade, is a Nigeria, Nigerian multi-platinum Afro R&B singing, singer, songwriter, record producer, philanthropist, humanitarian and entrepreneur. ...

Asa Asa may refer to: People and fictional characters * Asa (given name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters so named * Asa people, an ethnic group based in Tanzania * Aṣa, Nigerian-French singer, songwriter, and reco ...

Goldie Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is an English music producer, DJ, and actor. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musi ...

and others Tosyn also ran ONE MIC NAIJA with Moyo Shomade & Osagie Okunkpolor. One Mic Naija is a concert dedicated to getting new and established acts on the same stage.

Television

Bucknor hosted 'Tosyn's Buzz Live' on Pulse TV every Friday. Her television and acting credits include: * Co-host 3Live Chicks with Oreka Godis and

Toke Makinwa Toke Makinwa (born 3 November 1984) is a Nigerian radio personality, television host, vlogger, entrepreneur, actress, author, and fashion influencer. Makinwa is known for hosting ''The Late Morning Show'' on Rhythm 93.7 FM Lagos, Rhythm 93.7 FM ...

(a TV and YouTube show) * Television Correspondent for EbonyLife Television * Guest judge on Naija Sings Season 1 * Guest judge on

Project Fame West Africa ''Project Fame'', also known as ''Project Fame West Africa'' or ''MTN Project Fame West Africa'' (for sponsorship purposes), is a music talent TV reality show filmed in Lagos and aired in the West African subcontinent. It is a regional version of ...

Season 5 * Judge on Boost Freestyle Reality Show Season 2 * Mentor on

Season 2 * Mentor on

Season 5 * Judge on God's Kids Great Talent, City Of David,

Redeemed Christian Church of God The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is a holiness pentecostal megachurch and denomination headquartered in Ebute Metta, Lagos, Nigeria. With presence in 197 countries and territories of the world and more than 5 million members in Nigeri ...

. 2012 * Judge on Greensprings Pastoral Centre Talent Show (PC's Got Talent), Greensprings School, Lekki. 2012 * Plays "Osa" on

TINSEL Tinsel is a type of decorative material that mimics the effect of ice, consisting of thin strips of sparkling material attached to a thread. When in long narrow strips not attached to thread, it is called "lametta", and emulates icicles. It was o ...

, a

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

soap opera * The Survivor Show with

DJ Neptune Imohiosen Patrick (born 26 September 1990), professionally known as DJ Neptune, is a Nigerian disc jockey and record producer born in Lagos, Nigeria. Early life Imohiosen Patrick was born on 26 September 1990 in Lagos, he hails from Edo State, N ...

as Host DJ * Played 'Jola' on 'Plus 234', a television drama series * She was the brain behind the 'One Mic Naija" project

Writing credits

Tosyn contributed to several websites, including her own blogs, and wrote for television. Her writing credits include (but not limited to): * Series writer, '5ve' television series * Series writer, ' Apprentice Africa' * Series writer, 'Xtraconnect Gameshow' * Columnist for

the Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

on Sundays for the column, 'Strictly for the Young' * Columnist for Wedding Planner Magazine * Columnist for Exquisite Magazine * Series writer and Content Producer, '

Nigeria's Got Talent '' Nigeria's Got Talent'' is a Nigerian reality talent show that is part of the ''Got Talent'' franchise. It was launched in 2012 on television stations like AIT and NTA, and sponsored by thriving telecommunication company Airtel. Hosted by A ...

' Season 1 * Columnist for The Net NG (Tosyn's ten 10s) * Series contributor, "My Mum and I" * Series contributor, "Citi Sistas" * Series contributor, "About to Wed" * Writer

Amstel Malta Box Office Amstel Malta Box Office, also known as AMBO is a Nigerian television reality show launched in 2005. The TV reality show is sponsored by Nigerian Breweries, the largest brewing company in Nigeria. The show centered on the cinema of Nigeria, often re ...

(seasons 2 to 5) and

Voice Over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non-d ...

narrator for Season 5 * Website writer for

Gulder Ultimate Search ''Gulder Ultimate Search'' (also called GUS) is a Nigerian reality television series, created and sponsored by Nigerian Breweries Plc to promote the Gulder Lager Beer. The first season premiered in 2004. The GUS series is also the very first 100 ...

Season 3

Personal life

Tosyn married her French boyfriend Aurélien Boyer 15 November 2015 at Landmark Events Centre, Oniru. She publicly maintained close friendships with Lamide Akintobi Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi and Lala Akindoju.

Death

Tosyn was found dead by her husband, Aurelien Boyer, when he arrived at home from work on 19 November 2018. Her sister, Funke Bucknor Obruthe said through her instagram account that Tosyn died due to sickle cell complications. She was born with

sickle cell anaemia Sickle cell disease (SCD), also simply called sickle cell, is a group of inherited haemoglobin-related blood disorders. The most common type is known as sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell anemia results in an abnormality in the oxygen-carrying ...

. Following her death, a poem she had written a few days before her death surfaced online, where she apparently predicted her death.

Recognitions and awards

* Nominee, Women in Media Awards 2009 * Nominee, Exquisite Lady of the Year Award 2009, 2010, 2011 * Nominee, Future Awards, Best Use of Goodwill 2009 * Nominee, Dynamix Awards, Radio Personality of the Year 2009, 2011 * Nominee, Future Awards, On-Air Personality of the Year, Radio 2010 * Nominee, FAB Awards, On-Air Personality, Radio 2011, 2012 * Nominee, Dynamix Awards Best Radio Personality 2011 * Nominee,

Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice, is an American annual awards ceremony show produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in March or early April, the show honors the year's biggest in tel ...

, Favourite On-Air Personality (Nigeria) 2015 * Nominee, OAP of the Year, SCREAM Awards 2016 * Nominee, Most Fashionable On-Air Personality, Lagos Fashion Awards 2016 * Winner, Best of Nollywood Awards, Radio Host of the Year * Winner, Tweet Rave Awards, Most Innovative Tweets * Winner, Jeans 4 Genes II, Best charity/cause-related event at Nigerian Events Award * Winner, Nigerian Broadcasters Awards: Most Popular Radio Presenter * As CON.tra.diction, Tosyn was nominated at the NMVA Awards 2010 in the Best Rock Video category * Tosyn was inducted into the Humanitarian Hall of Fame by Charity Lounge, Lagos for her 'Act of Kindness' 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bucknor, Tosyn Nigerian radio presenters People from Lagos State Nigerian soul musicians University of Lagos alumni Rappers from Lagos Queen's College, Lagos alumni 1981 births Tosyn Deaths from sickle-cell disease People with sickle-cell disease Nigerian television actresses 2018 deaths Nigerian women radio presenters Nigerian radio personalities