| P-Square |
| Birth name |
Peter and Paul Okoye |
| Also known as |
Paul & Peter |
| Born |
18 November 1981 (age 32)
Jos, Nigeria |
| Origin |
Ifite Dunu, Anambra State, Nigeria |
| Genres |
R&B, African hip hop |
| Occupations |
Recording artist, singer-songwriter, performer |
| Instruments |
vocals |
| Years active |
2003–present |
| Labels |
Square records, Konvict Muzik, Universal Music Group (SA) |
| Associated acts |
Jude Engees Okoye, Akon, J Martins, Waje, 2 Face Idibia, Matt Houston, Tiwa Savage, Naeto C, LKT, Bracket, Lagbaja |
| Website |
P-Square |
P-Square are a
Nigerian R&B duo composed of identical twin brothers
Peter and
Paul Okoye.
[1] They produce and release their albums through Square Records. In December 2011, they were also signed to
Akon's
Konvict Muzik label.
[2] In May 2012, they also signed a record distribution deal with
Universal Music South Africa.
[3]
History
The story of P-Square began in St. Murumba secondary school, a small
Catholic school in
Jos,
Nigeria.
Identical twins Peter and Paul joined their school music and drama club
where they began singing, dancing, and mimicking songs by
MC Hammer,
Bobby Brown and
Michael Jackson.
They later formed an
a cappella quartet called "MMMPP" (M Clef a.k.a. Itemoh, Michael, Melvin, Peter and Paul). Drawing inspiration from their music idol
Michael Jackson, they began
break dancing, formed the group called "Smooth Criminals" in 1997.
[4]
They dropped M Clef from the group "MMMPP" which later was changed to
"MMPP". Their artistic talent and precise dance routine soon made them
household names in the city of Jos, where they performed at school
functions and other occasions.
[4]
Later in 1999, Peter and Paul returned to music school to develop
their skills on keyboard, drums, bass and rhythm guitar. Their work
includes the soundtracks for a number of films like
Tobi,
Mama Sunday,
Moment of Bitterness and
Evas River.
Later in 1999, they applied to the
University of Abuja
to study Business Administration. The Smooth Criminals disbanded when
its members left to various other universities. Subsequently Peter and
Paul formed their own group, variously called "Double P", "P&P", and
"Da Pees", until they eventually settled on "P Square". They are
managed by Bayo Odusami aka Howie T, a seasoned concert promoter and the
CEO of Adrot Nigeria Limited.
In 2001, "P-Square" won the "Grab Da Mic" competition, and hence Benson & Hedges sponsored their debut album, titled
Last Nite, which was released under Timbuk2 music label. P-Square was also nominated as "Most Promising African Group" in the
Kora Awards three months after the release of their debut album. They eventually won the 2003 Amen Award for "Best R&B Group".
[4]
In 2005, P Square released their second album,
Get Squared
under their own label, Square Records. This album was marketed
nationwide by TJoe Enterprises, although they were still managed by
Howie T of Adrot Nigeria Limited. The video for the second album held
the #1 position on the
MTV Base chart for four straight weeks.
They have an ever growing fan base across South Africa with a particular stronghold of diehard fans in
Cape Town.
The group has performed alongside the following international artists like
Ginuwine,
Sean Paul,
Akon and Busola Keshiro. The members of P Square are now located in
Lagos.
[4]
Late in 2007, they released their best selling album so far,
Game Over. It has sold 8 million copies worldwide.
[4]
In 2009, P-Square released their fourth studio album,
Danger. The album features collaborations with
2 Face Idibia,
J Martins and Frenzy. The first single called "Danger" is a hip hop
song with cutting synths and a frog bass baseline similar to an
Eminem song. The video affirms this with the presence of
clowns and staggered movements in front of the camera reminiscent of comical videos by
Eminem. They are also known for the close resemblance which the twins have to American R&B Superstar,
Usher Raymond.
On 4 April 2010, P-Square was named the Artist of the Year
[5] at the
KORA All Africa Music Awards in
Ouagadougou,
Burkina-Faso while they were in
London for a Concert at the
Troxy, and they will receive a whopping sum of $1 Million Dollars as the Award Winners, in Ebebiyin City.
Controversies
The duo are reported to handle most of their production/beat making
in house. The band has been faced with many controversies for their
habit of
sampling
western songs and popular hits in their records. They have addressed
the issue many times in interviews as well as in the lyrics of their
songs. Technically speaking, P Square does more in the line of
reconstructing the drum patterns, chord progressions or lyrics of the
sampled songs as against actually cutting parts of the song and directly
sampling into their production. This accounts for the largely
electronic feel of their sound.
Some of the songs which have been called up on this account include "Get Squared", "Game Over", "Danger" and others.
P-Square attracted headlines because they reportedly turned irate
when they were notified by organisers in the middle of their performance
at the Guinness Show about some change in plans which would affect the
length of their performance, and that of the next act,
2 Face Idibia.
As reported by a news site vanguardngr.com, the info apparently stirred
up resentment as Peter immediately said "I don’t know why, anytime a
foreign artiste comes to Nigeria, they (show organizers) wanna treat us
like slaves in our country". Although initially they continued their
performance but midway through, they threw their microphones to the
ground and angrily stormed out of the stage saying, "We are leaving;
they don’t want 2face to come on stage" They were said to have
immediately left the premises of the show, but after intervention of the
show organisers, they came on stage later with 2face for a performance,
but later on were apologised to.
Paul Okoye, one half of the musical duo, P-Square, was involved in a
paternity scandal with a lady named Elshamah Igbanoi. The lady claimed
Paul impregnated her; Paul denied the pregnancy and went for a paternity
test.
[6]
Personal life
On 8 August 2013, Peter Okoye got engaged to his long time girlfriend, Lola Omotayo.
[7] On November 17, 2013, the two held their traditional wedding at
The Ark in Lekki,
Lagos,
Nigeria. Public figures who attended the wedding include
Aliko Dangote,
Emmanuel Adebayor,
Kate Henshaw,
Genevieve Nnaji, Rukky Sanda, Folorunsho Alakija, May D, Toke Makinwa,
Dr SID,
Don Jazzy, and Karen Igho among others.
[8][9]
Discography
Studio albums
Compilation albums
International singles
Awards and nominations
P-Square awards and nominations
|
|
| Totals |
| Awards won |
17 |
| Nominations |
14 |
- MTV Europe Music Awards
- Soul Train Music Awards
- The Headies
- City Mag 9th Awards Show
- Nigerian Music Awards (NMA)
- Channel O Music Video Awards
- MTV Africa Music Awards
- KORA Awards
- Lil Perry Productions
- MOBO Awards
- BET Awards
- Ghana Music Awards
References
External links
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