They have dropped score after score of wave-making music year after year after year. No P-Square album or single goes by unnoticed. They seem to have perfected the art of making bone-jolting, dance-inspiring music and they sure are the richer for it!!! From country to country, traversing one continent to another, P-Square has staged its electrifying performances before some of the world’s largest audiences, garnered a mammoth followership and a not-so-humble collection of awards and nominations.
Peter+Paul Okoye= P-Square are perhaps the world’s most unique singing duo-they are identical twins; like you didn’t know that already!!! Born with a love for singing and dancing, the boys were part of a dance crew way back in Secondary School. Their crew evolved from MMMPP [what a name!] to Smooth Criminals [oh no!] and finally, with just the P’s as the last men standing, they eventually settled on P-Square.
Very vocal about their beneath-average homestead in Jos, Plateau State of Nigeria, P-Square set forth, despite disapproval from their Parents, and moved to Lagos to pursue their dreams to fruition.
In 2001, P-Square won the “Grab Da Mic” music competition, and as part of their prize, Benson & Hedges sponsored their debut album, entitled Last Nite, which was released under the Timbuk2 music label. In an interview in 2013, Peter Okoye stated that they won a keyboard as the Prize for that competition; a keyboard which they still employ in making music till date! P-Square was nominated as the “Most Promising African Group” in the Kora Awards three months after the release of their debut album. What a prophecy that nomination turned out to be.
In the past decade, P-Square has improved its game, which is evident in the production and packaging of their latest efforts. I remember the rave when they released the ‘Get Squared’ album in 2005. It was fresh, it was new, it was different and Nigerians loved it. The dance scenes and set were not as sleek and sophisticated as perhaps their latest dance video, ‘Alingo’ but it held the #1 position on the MTV Base chart for four straight weeks. [Personal opinion: They really don’t need barely clothed women and seductive scenes to make an earth-shaking video.] In 2009, P-Square hit up the screens with a new album ‘Danger’ which was recorded to have sold one million copies in eight days after its release. Wow.
The Award winning duo’s discography includes Last Nite-2003, Get Squared-2005, Game Over-2007, Danger-2009, and ‘The Invasion-2011. Their International singles include “E No Easy” feat. J. Martins, “Positif” Matt Houston feat. P-Square, “Chop My Money (I Don’t Care) with a remix with featured Akon and May-D” and “Alingo”.
Somewhere in Squareville in Lagos, Nigeria, they have these awards hanging on their walls; in 2006 at the Hip Hop World Awards; Best R&B Album (Get Squared), Best Music Video (Get Squared), Album of the Year (Get Squared) and Song of the Year (Bizzy Body). Same year at the Nigerian Music Awards (NMA); Album of the year (Get Squared) and Music Video of the year (Get Squared).
In 2007 at the Channel O Music Video Awards, they won Best Duo or Group; in 2008, they won it again including the Video of the Year for “Do Me”. At the MTV Africa Music Awards in 2008 and 2009, they were awarded the Best Group. At the 2010 KORA Awards, they won the Artiste of the Year Award which reportedly came with $1million prize money. In 2012 at the Channel O Music Video Awards, they once again bagged the Best Duo/Group award for Featuring Music Video “Chop My Money” with Akon and May D.
All they do is win!!!
Recently named the second richest musicians in Africa behind Youssou N’dour of Senegal by AfricaAnswers, these brothers have come a long, long way. That they are Stars is not in doubt; that they are talented is beyond reproof. That they have also worked very hard, surmounted real obstacles and come out on top is the reason we applaud them. They give us reason to believe that no matter how lowly a man is born, he can still dine with Kings if he washes his hands. [This is my twist on that other proverb].
Thank you for reading; go and work that talent of yours!
