Sunday, May 14, 2017

P-SQUARE: THE NIGERIAN R&B MUSIC SUCCESS STORY

P-Square: Peter & Paul Okoye

Peter and Paul Okoye are identical twins born on 18th November 1981 to Pa Moses & Mrs. Josephine Okoye of Ifite-Dunu Town in Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria. When their parents relocated to Jos, Plateau State, North-Central Nigeria the twins were enrolled in a Catholic owned St. Mulumba’s Secondary School. Their talents started to manifest when they joined the school’s music and drama group where their passion for music and dancing were developed. They developed a great love for R&B music genre with Michael Jackson, Bobby Brown and MC Hammer as their role models.
The professional music journey of P-Square began in 2001 when the twins won the prestigious “Grab Da Mic” show which was a talent hunt show sponsored by “Benson and Hedges”, in the same year, the group secured their first major record deal and released their first album titled “Last Nite” under Timbuk2 Music label. This debut album was a success.
The duo won a 2003 Amen Award for “Best R&B Group”
In 2005, P-Square released its second album titled “Get Squared” under its own record label – Square Records. The video for the second album held the No. 1 position on the MTV Base chart for four straight weeks!

In 2007 P-Square released its bestselling album so far, “Game Over” on T Joe Entertainment label. It was a smash hit that sold 8 million copies worldwide!
In 2009, P-Square released its 4th studio album, “Danger” on Square Records label. The album featured collaborations with 2-Face Idibia, J Martins and Frenzy. The first single “Danger” is a hip hop song with cutting synths and a frog bass baseline like an Eminem song.

In 2010, the group won the Best African Act award at the KORA All African Music Awards held in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. 
In December 2011, they were signed to Akon's Konvict Musik label which has enabled them to reach a worldwide audience. Their 5th Album “The Invasion” was released in 2011 on Flytime Music.
In May 2012, they also signed a record distribution deal with Universal Music of South Africa.

In August 2012, P-Square released a single titled “Alingo”, it became a monster hit that took the whole of Africa by storm. The video shot which was co-directed by their elder brother Jude “Engees” Okoye and Clarence Peters of Capital Hill Production was rated as the best video in Nigeria that year.

In June 2013, the twins released another smash hit “Personally”. The video was a tribute to late Michael Jackson who inspired their musical career till date. The video and song was such a hit that it got the attention of Jermaine Jackson, late Michael Jackson’s brother who commended the stars for doing such a tremendous job and hoped to meet with them.
In 2014, P-Square released its 6th Album “Double Trouble” on Square Records.
Childhood to Adulthood: Metamorphosis of P-Square

P-Square is the highest paid Artiste in Africa in terms of performance fee, endorsement fee, contract fee, and album sales. The duo is one of the most successful African acts, and this is evident with the massive success of their numerous concerts in the continent. Over the years, the three time MTV award winning group has made an enviable impact in Africa, doing sold out concerts. And till date, the demand is still waxing stronger. 
In 2015 P-Square were involved in a very devastating dispute that nearly torn them apart, the world thought it had seen the end of the duo, but they made up after a few months.
Bank Alert Video 2016

In September 2016, the duo again released another hit single titled “Bank Alert” on Square Records label. They have also released a single titled “Away” February 2017 and the song is already making waves on the Nigerian airwaves.