The break up of the Psquare duo is still unacceptable to many and that they come back together is one thing that majority of their fans worldwide crave for. They had started in St. Murumba secondary school, a small Catholic school in Jos, Plateau State Nigeria in the late 1990s only to be shattered in 2017.
Peter and Paul Okoye joined their school music and drama club where they began singing, dancing, and mimicking songs by MC Hammer, Bobby Brown and Michael Jackson and later formed an a cappella quartet called “MMMPP” (M Clef a.k.a. Itemoh, Michael, Melvin, Peter and Paul).Drawing inspiration from Michael Jackson, they began break dancing, formed 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 school functions and other occasions.
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. They also applied to the University of Abuja to study Business Administration in the same year and this saw the end of the Smooth Criminals as the members left for 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 Psquare. They were managed by Bayo Odusami aka Howie T, a seasoned concert promoter and the CEO of Adrot Nigeria Limited.
In 2001, Psquare won the Grab Da Mic competition, and this saw Benson & Hedges sponsor their debut album, Last Nite, which was released under Timbuk2 music label. The duo was nominated as the Most Promising African Group in the Kora Awards three months after the release of their debut album and they eventually won the 2003 Amen Award for Best R&B Group. Read also:Â I Do Not Regret Leaving Psquare – Mr P
In 2017, Psquare 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 Psquare for weeks and eventually relocating, taking his wife and kids from the mansion they both lived years and accommodated their extended family in. A lawyer waded in as they had both engaged in joint venture over the years. In the late and early hours of yesterday and today respectively, the streets of Twitter have been buzzing with comparisons of each part of the duo’s music and growth since they broke up. While many are of the opinion that Rudeboy is the GOAT of the Psquare duo, others think it is Mr P. Anywhich way, nothing beats when the Psquare was Psquare. Their lyrics, dance and choreography, beat, melody and vibes were ones to anticipate and put one in the perfect mood for the day.
So today, we are not deliberating which is better individually, but we are looking at 5 great songs Psquare had served Nigeria, Africa and the world at large and are still resounding when they come to mind.
1. Bizzy Body: this song is from their biggest, most hit and best-sold album Get Squared. The album, which is their second studio album propelled the duo to limelight.
2. Do Me I Do You: Man no go vex!
3. Roll It: You may not know before but this song featured Waje. You remember the ‘I Like It’ part? Yes, she did it! So erotic a song.
4. Temptation: with a little confusion, imagination, oh yeah.
5. Story:Â I gat a story, story!Photos Credit: Getty
Drawing inspiration from Michael Jackson, they began break dancing, formed 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 school functions and other occasions.
Subsequently, Peter and Paul formed their own group, variously called Double P, P&P, and Da Pees, until they eventually settled on Psquare. They were managed by Bayo Odusami aka Howie T, a seasoned concert promoter and the CEO of Adrot Nigeria Limited.
Photos Credit: Getty
