P-Square

P-Square is a Nigerian Music duo, consisting of the twin brothers Peter Okoye and Paul Okoye, who co-write and co-produce much of their records.

Noted for their artistic reinvention, musical versatility, and visual presentation, they are widely regarded as one of the most influential African Acts of all time and one of the most successful African Music Group internationally.

The twins Peter Okoye and Paul Okoye, though originally from Anambra, were born on 18 November 1981 in Jos, to Josephine Okoye - a pastor, and Pa Moses Okoye - a businessman.

Peter and Paul, together with their siblings: Jude, Mary, Tony, Lilian and Ifeanyi Okoye, were raised Catholics, with Christian values.

They became interested in performing arts while attending St. Murumba College, a Catholic School in Jos.

They were involved in the school music and drama club and began singing and dancing, while drawing inspiration from artists like Bobby Brown, Michael Jackson, and MC Hammer.

Also while in school, they formed an A cappella quartet that eventually morphed into a more pop-oriented dance crew in which they developed choreographed routines.

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.

After the disbandment of the dancing and singing group they formed in the late 1990s, Peter and Paul subsequently founded 'P-Square'.

Inspired by the success of Nigeria's team at the 1996 Summer Olympic in Atlanta, they dabbled in an unsuccessful footballing career at ‘Pepsi Football academy,' in Jos.

They played alongside Mikel John Obi at the academy, who was in the junior team then.

They would later form a music and dancing group called ‘smooth criminal’ in 1997.

By 1999, they had added keyboards, bass, drum, and guitar to their skills.

Their works include the soundtracks for a number of films like Tobi, Mama Sunday, Moment of Bitterness and Evas River.

Despite their parents hope for them to aim for a career in academics, Peter and Paul remained committed to their musical journey.

They later went to do their diploma programs at the University of Jos.

After which they proceeded to University of Abuja for their degree program in 1999 to study Business Administration.

‘The Smooth Criminals’ group 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", a name given to them by a friend of theirs called Richard.

They later signed a management deal with Bayo Odusami, a seasoned concert promoter.

They were integral to the evolution of the 2000s and 2010s African popular music.

It is the only 2000s project from Nigeria to have surpassed 30M streams on Spotify, and has been considered a timeless body of work by music critics.

Some of P-Square songs include "Personally," "Chop My Money," "Beautiful Onyinye," "Alingo," “E no easy“ "Shekini," "Do Me," “Temptation,” "Bring it On," “Testimony,” "Bizzy Body," and "Gimme Dat."

In 2001, they won a talent show and signed a record deal with Timbuk2 Label where they released their debut album in 2003.

They later founded their own label and released the following albums: Get Squared, Gameover, Danger, Invasion and Double Trouble.

"Gameover" Album which explored multiple societal themes such as Love, Regret, Assurance and Political Criticism, sold over 8 Million copies worldwide.

Around the same time, P-Square won a Nigerian talent competition "Grab Da Mic" in 2001, and hence Benson & Hedges sponsored their debut album.

Peter stated, “ I think it was one hell of an opportunity for us then.

The duo was launched into the mainstream recognition following the release of the song “Senorita” in 2003, and later gain much wider recognition after the release of their sophomore album “Get Squared” in 2005.

A prominent figure in the Africa popular culture of the 21st Century, P-Square was awarded the honorary "artistes of the decade," for their cultural impacts in the music industry between 2005-2015, at the MTV Africa Music Award 2015.

The success of the album earned them a nomination at the MTV EMA Best African Act in 2006.

In 2011, they signed a record deal with Akon’s Konvict Music.

P-Square has sold more than 40M Album records as of 2011.

The duo was nominated for BET Awards, Soul Train Awards, MTV Europe Music Award, MOBO Awards and they have won KORA Awards, MTV Africa Music Awards, and Channel O Music Video Awards.

They were also the first Nigerian to peak at top 5 on SNEP - French official chart and top 10 on Ultratop - Belgium official chart in 2012 with the French Version of “E no easy” featuring Matt Houston.

The song was the First Afrobeats Summer hit in France.

They have been referred to as the “Best African Group” by Forbes Africa consecutively.

They have appeared on the Forbes Lists of the 40 most powerful celebrities in Africa.

In 2021, the duo reunited after their disbandment in 2017.

They returned with the single 'Jaiye' and have announced their Reunion Tour and their forthcoming album.