
are a Nigerian R&B duo of identical twin brothers Peter Okoye and Paul Okoye. They
produce and release their albums through Square
Records. In December 2011, they signed a record deal
[2]with Akon"s Konvict Muzik label. In May 2012, they
signed a record distribution deal with Universal
[3]Music"s South African branch. On 25 September
2017, numerous media outlets reported that the group
[4]disbanded. Reports about a breakup surfaced after
Peter reportedly sent a termination letter to the
[4]group"s lawyer. Prior to this report, the duo
disbanded in 2016, supposedly over a disagreement
[4]about the role of their manager.
P-Square
P Square US Canada Tour 2010.jpg
(P Square) on stage performing in Canada 2010
Background information
Birth name
Peter Okoye
Paul Okoye
Also known as
Paul & Peter
Born
18 November 1981 (age 35)
Jos, Nigeria
Origin
Ifite Dunu, Anambra State, Nigeria
Genres
R&B, African hip hop
Occupation(s)
Recording artist, performer, dancer
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 Rick Ross, T.I., Dave Scott
Fliptyce May D
History
P-Square began in St. Murumba secondary school, a
[citation needed]small Catholic school in Jos, Nigeria .
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
[5]the group called "Smooth Criminals" in 1997. 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
[5]school functions and other occasions.
Later in 1999, Peter and Paul returned to music school
to develop their skills on the 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
[5]Amen Award for "Best R&B Group".
In 2005, they 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.
The group has performed with artists like Ginuwine
and Sean Paul, Akon. P Square are now located in
[5]Lagos.
Late in 2007, they released their best selling album so
far,
Game Over. It has sold 8 million copies
[5]worldwide.
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 singer,
Usher Raymond.
On 4 April 2010, P-Square was named the Artist of
[6]the Year at the Kora Awards in Ouagadougou,
Burkina-Faso while they were in London for a concert
at the Troxy, and they will receive a sum of 1 Million
Dollars as the award winners, in Ebebiyin City.
On 29 August 2014, P-Square released a single track
featuring a top America Artist
T.I. which P-Square
[7]titled EjeAjo produced and co-written by VTEK,
[8]EjeAjo official video featuring T.I. was also
released 29 August 2014 on both TV stations, Radio
Stations and Web blogs.
On 14 September 2014 P-Square released their 6th
[9]studio album titled Double Trouble .
On 8 October 2015 P-Square were given Range Rover
SUVs from
Globacom as Glo Ambassadors for their
sponsorship of the #DanceWithPeter TV Radio
entertainment programme. The programme brings
dancers from around the world to showcase their
talents for prizes.
On 24 February 2016 News of how Globacom decided
not to renew its Ambassadorship deal with the duo,
albeit renewing the contract with other Ambassadors
hit the news. This was as a result of a fallout
between the company’s representatives and Peter,
one half of the P-Square twins during the grand finale
[10]of the Dance with Peter talent hunt show.
Controversy
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, The boy, 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
[11]went for a paternity test.
The duo had a difference in opinion regarding what
Peter perceived as a lopsidedness in individual input
of songs which was getting featured on their joint
albums with Paul getting a lion share of his songs
selected. This led to Peter refusing to do anything P
square for weeks. Peter relocated taking his wife and
kids from the mansion they both lived years and
accommodated their extended family in. A lawyer
was also involved to help split their fortune as they
were both involved in joint ventures over the years.
Personal life
After dating for seven years, Peter Okoye got
engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Titilola Loretta
[13]Omotayo. Omotayo is a marketing representative.
The couple are already parents to son Cameron and
[14][15][16]daughter Aliona. On 17 November 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,
[17][18]Don Jazzy, and Karen Igho among others.
Paul Okoye met Anita Isama in 2004 while attending
[19][20]the University of Abuja. Their son Andre was
born 11 April 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
[21][22][23]The couple married on Saturday, 22 March
2014 at the Aztech Arcum Events Centre in Port
[23][24]Harcourt.
In January 2014, the Okoye brothers bought mansions
next door to one another in Atlanta.
Read More:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-Square