P-square
It
was a heartbreak for fans of P-sqaure last year after the Okoye
brothers announced the break-up of their group after 19 years, but will
they ever come back together again? a writer has penned a piece on how
the big dogs don't bite again.
Until late last year, when they finally went their separate ways,
Peter and Paul Okoye, popularly known as P-Square used to be the
favourite of many lovers of contemporary Nigerian music. But the same
cannot be said of the twins today no matter how hard they try to make
their fans believe that all is well with them.
The duo announced their break up as a musical group last year after
months of speculation, dirty fights on social media and disagreements.
Consequently, they embarked on solo careers to display individually what
they brought to the table, to create the famous Psquare brand. But
almost a year after their breakup, the singing duo are rarely measuring
up to expectations, and their fans can tell better.
At the time one of the twins, Peter sent to their lawyer, Festus
Keyamo a demand for the termination of the agreement between the
group-P-Square,on Thursday, September 21, 2017, he definitely was ready
for the worst to happen. Unfortunately, he did not give any thought
about what becomes of the Psquare brand after their split.
Despite defending his decision with a series of allegations made
against his twin brother, Paul Okoye and their elder brother/manager,
Jude Okoye, Peter Okoye is sure to be counting his losses today as well
as those of his twin brother, Paul Okoye.
Apparently, before their split, Psquare was one of the most famous
musical groups in Africa with successful shows in America, Canada,
Europe and other parts of the world. The group’s net worth then in
Dollars reportedly was more than $130 million.
They were one of the richest singers in Nigeria, earning about
$150,000 per show in Africa. They also got a lot of money for their
contracts, music downloads, different ads, and endorsements.
They not only had a fleet of posh cars, including Hummer Jeep H2,
worth $120,000, but also, they were into real estate business, and owed
many houses in the highbrow areas of Omole Estate, Lekki and Atlanta
respectively. Being one of the favourite music groups in Africa, the duo
reportedly had more than 4 million fans on social media.
While they lasted, the identical twins were the most sought after
entertainers in Africa. Besides, some of their back to back singles such
as “Getting Down”, “Chop my Money”, “Personally” , “Beautiful Onyinye” ,
“Ejeajo” and “Bring it On” not only received massive airplay, but also,
global acceptance.
Their success continued to earn them many nominations and awards
both within and outside the shores of the country. Also, the pair had
other sources of income that gave them an edge over their
contemporaries. They were into multimillion naira real state business in
addition to having an endorsement deal with telecoms giant, Glo, which
according to those in the know ran into hundreds of millions of Naira.
They also had an endorsement deal with Skol Beer (Congo) which also
ran into millions of naira. Sadly, all of these achievements have been
swept under the carpet, and the duo have reasons to start afresh to
build an individual brand that would surpass Psquare.
From all indications, part of the inevitable prices the duo have
continued to pay following their break up is a steady cancellation of
tours, shows, public appearances and the subsequent revenue loss.
It has become so bad that a source close to the singing duo,
confirmed to us that since their break up, they have been busy refunding
monies paid to them in advance for shows they never honoured as a
group. At a point, according to the source, “their Accounting officer
was forced to ask them “what’s happening …you’re only getting debit and
no credit alerts.”
To make matters worse, the source further revealed that the duo are
currently putting up some of their joint property for sale. But despite
the prevailing dicey situation, the Okoye brothers are “ready to take
risks” and they are not looking back, not even at the expense of their
fans.
As solo artistes
When their break up was made public, fans as well as critics were
curious as to which of the twin brothers has a better chance of making
it as a solo artiste. However, a close look at their individual
performances after the breakup, it seems Peter Okoye, now known as Mr. P
who initiated the separation obviously is leading the way. With his
media-friendly mien, great looks and the ability to spin a good story,
Mr P is surely carving out a niche for himself.
But the question remains, how far can he go in this journey without
his twin brother? Ironically, ‘when the going was good’, the duo made
great hits, toured round the world and graced both local and
international stages together as ‘P-Square’, not as ‘Mr. P’ or ‘Rudeboy’
as Paul Okoye is fondly called by his fans. And now, it’s every man for
himself.
In the heat of the breakup, Paul Okoye kicked off his solo career
last November, after he dropped his two singles, ‘Nkenji Keke and “Fire
Fire.”’ He dropped the singles few weeks after his half brother, Mr. P
equally released his own solo single, “ Cool It Down” the mid-tempo song
he dropped under P-Classic Records. Mr. P has since released two other
singles, ‘For My Head,’ and ‘My Way’ as a proof of his readiness to be
ahead of his twin brother.
The singles reportedly made waves, with the first two running into
millions and the most recent one almost at the 300,000 mark in just
three days of its release. “Cool it down’, which is his first official
release, has a sample. Up next is ‘My Way’, a record which samples its
instrumentals from Mario Winans’ ‘I don’t Wanna Know’, a 2003 song
co-which features Diddy, and co-produced by Fugees. The single recorded a
huge success worldwide, reaching #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and #1 in
the UK Top 40.
The video for ‘My Way’, has Peter Okoye condemned to a desert by a
jilted lover. It conceptually borrows from Chris Brown’s ‘Don’t Wake Me
Up’ visuals. Critics believe Mr. P has always had his key influences
from the 90s and early 2000’s R&B singers. But with the split, Peter
seems to have fallen back on old techniques to create future sounds.
The pop singer is not ready to disappoint his fans, even as his
vocal dexterity remains an added advantage to his quest to rebrand
himself. Many have described him as the engine room of the group. But
his half brother, Paul appears to be doing his own thing quietly. He’s
said to be very capable of satiating P-Square fans with songs that are
reminiscent of the group at their very best. Paul Okoye’s impressive
love song, “Nkenji Keke”, for one, sounds like a song that would have
fit perfectly on their acclaimed third studio album, Get Squared.
While the second single, “Fire Fire”, is literally begging to be
played at every Nigerian wedding ceremony for the foreseeable future.
Both songs as so impressive, as it’s almost impossible to pick which of
them stands out.” But all in all, the Okoye brothers are leaving no
stone un-turned in their bid to outshine each other. However, time will
tell who is better as a solo artiste. At the moment, we can only
postulate whether “talent” or “deals” will help them scale through
individually as Mr. P or Rude Boy.
Chances of their reunion
It’s not clear whether the duo are ready to come together again, at
least not for now. Peter Okoye, in a recent interview he granted to
Citizen TV in Kenya, gave condition for their reunion. But it’s up to
his brother to shift his ground.
“The fans want Psquare but how many times do you want Psquare
to come back and break up? We’ve broken up three times and the same
issue is still there. so if Psquare is going to come back we need to
settle that issue. Psquare might come back, they might not come back.”
Peter said he must put his wife and children first because of the vow he made on his wedding day. “I pulled out the plug because I felt the disrespect coming from my family (was) getting too much,” he said.
“There’s something we call marginalisation. Don’t ever be a
slave because you want to be in a family. Psquare can only come back if
the respect comes 100 percent. I don’t disrespect my brother’s wife or
his family but he disrespects mine all the time.
"He would insult me and my family in public, on instagram, and
the next minute he would wait for me for us to perform together. I can’t
do that. one thing is for sure, I took a vow to protect my wife and
kids the day I got married and I stick to that,” Peter said.
Fans clamouring for their reunion!
Almost one year after their break up, fans can’t stop missing
Psquare’s electrifying performances, imitable dance steps and
crowd-pulling concerts. Their insistence on knowing the whereabouts of
the other half brother in the case of one of them performing solo cannot
be ignored. A case in point, was when Mr. Paul was performing solo last
year at Phynofest music carnival at ‘The Cathedral’, Nnamdi Azikiwe
Stadium, Enugu.
The organizer of the show and rapper, Phyno while performing his
collaboration song with Psquare, ‘Financial Woman,’ at which point Paul
joined him on stage to sing the song’s chorus. Hell was let loose when
fans started asking him the whereabouts of his twin brother, Peter.
Responding to questions from the crowd, Paul replied that Peter was
in America. He would go on to perform a few of the group’s old songs
but the crowd kept asking him about the whereabouts of his brother. At a
point, he stopped singing to reply to their questions, as he blamed his
half brother for their break up.
That’s the truth, the Okoye brothers would have to live with, as
long as they remain separated. Meanwhile, many fans of the duo believe
that they will do better as a group than as individuals. For veteran
musician, Tee Mac, the identical twins jointly nurtured their careers,
had an interesting stage shows and their fans loved them.
According to him, “ The twin brothers will soon realize that
going solo, they have to start afresh. But this time, the competition of
nice looking young musicians is there and the millions of Nigerian
teenagers don’t care about the quality and professional experience
P-Square may have achieved over the years. “I wish Peter and Paul all
the best in all their endeavours.”
For an Akwa-Ibom-based radio DJ, RockyFela, P-Square’s separation
is bound to have a negative effect, as long as one of the brothers was
the creative force behind the group. ”If the two brothers
contributed equally in terms of composition and song writing, they
wouldn’t be found wanting as solo artistes,” he noted.
However, after 19 years of pursuing joint musical careers, it’s
only natural that the twin brothers cannot be together forever, not even
when they are married with kids, and having made a name as one of the
longest partnerships in the musical world. But if the truth is to be
told, the Okoyo brothers will continue to draw not only their musical
strengths but also, will live under the shadow of the P-Square brand.
********
Culled from:Vanguard
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