IS PSQUARE ADVOCATING FOR AFRICAN MUSIC? - by Elite Ambassador

Writing this story about the controversy between the Nigerian duo singers, PSquare, saddens my heart looking at the level of the brand in the African Music Industry, it is worthy to note that these two singers are one of the best singers in the olden and modern contemporary music but not all music lovers especially the Square Records faithfuls following the rift between both singers also involving their older brother and family.

Taking you through the journey of the brand "PSquare". After graduating from secondary school where they originally started music and dancing with some other group members, they went on get lessons in a music school before proceeding to the University of Abuja where they studied Business Administration and also started PSquare as an official group under Konvict Muzic Records managed by Howie T.

After winning the "Grab Da Mic" competition in 2001, they decided to be on their own thereby starting their own record label "Square Records" managed and sponsored by their elder brother, Jude Okoye under which they recorded some of their greatest hits like Game Over, Double Trouble, The Invaion, Alingo, Personally among others. Talking about the rift, both of them have been doing well in the industry until sometime last year 2016 when both of them broke up from the group. It was noticed after Peter fired their elder brother and manager, Jude. Speaking in an interview, Peter stated he told Paul to get the business/brand "PSquare" structured like other record labels and allow their brother step down as the manager in order to get proper structuring but Paul refused in collaboration with their brother, Jude thinking he wants to leave their brother that helped them when they were stugling to make hits.

See excerpts of the interview below.

On Problems with Paul   

Four years ago, I told Jude that he needs to step down as our manager, because I didn’t want to disrespect him as a brother, but this is business, we have to structure it. And Jude said to me that there’s a way I’ll talk to him, and he’ll slap me. So I kept quiet’.

‘So, a few hours after, Paul came to me and said if I want Jude to step down it’s not a problem, but it’ll mean that he (Paul) will go solo. The the first time word got out about Psquare breaking up, a lot of people called us, senators, governors, and people like that. In fact three of us were once in a private jet to go and see someone who wanted to resolve our issues and we didn’t speak to each other all through the flight. At the end of the day, I swallowed my pride for peace to reign and allowed Jude to remain as our manager’.

He also spoke about how Paul and Jude betrayed him by taking money for shows and song collaboration with the other artistes in the name of PSquare without informing him.

‘So Tiwa Savage called me, apparently Paul had gone to do a song with her, not the campaign song they are promoting now, another Psquare collabo entirely. So she called me that she’s been trying to reach Paul to get the CD of the song from him that he’s already done his part, so I went to Paul’s house to help ask for it and tell him that I want to go to their studio to do my verse and he said he doesn’t know where the CD is’.

‘I went to the Mavin studio to meet Tiwa, when I got there, she asked for the CD and I told her Paul didn’t give me any CD, so I called him again and gave the phone to Tiwa and told her on phone that the CD is at Omole, so I got into the studio recorded my verse and when I finished, everybody was clapping. I was surprised only to realize that Paul had gone to tell them that I don’t sing or write songs’.

‘I felt really bad and betrayed, but I covered up for him. I jokingly asked Teebillz if they gave him Red Label and he said yes, so I was like you guys caused it, and we laughed over it. So when my assistant went to pick up the CD, Paul and Jude started shouting at him to tell Peter that what is he doing at the Mavin studio? He knows how we work. The next day, I went to Paul and told him how I felt when I heard what he said. Only for Jude to say that he made Paul the lead singer of Psquare 8 years ago! A leader leads, he doesn’t destroy.’

The 'Bank Alert' crooner also talked about management problems he's had with their brother, Jude Okoye.

When it comes to decision-making, it has always been a Triangle formation, and the highest vote wins. I never used to complain because we were all okay, but what has changed now is the fact that we’ve grown. You can make a certain decision based on how we used to do it and it may affect everyone as an individual, but it gets to a point when the decisions taken never gets to be my own and I began to wonder if anything is wrong’.

‘I always get Ideas, most of Psquare ideas come from me, and when I say Idea, I mean materials we need to put out for people to see, video, stage performances and all. But when I come up with them, nobody wants to accept it. I didn’t complain because people still love what we do, but then again, there wasn’t much competition in the industry back then’.

‘As time goes, we should get better, it shouldn’t be same triangle deciding, because if we continue that same way, we’ll lose it. All I want is a proper structure in the sense that, we need to have proper management, business managers and all’.

‘As I speak to you right now, we don’t have any office, no structure. When this issue started about five years ago, our lawyer told us the way we run our business is wrong without a structure’.

‘Imagine if Jude had a proper structure and we had contracts? That wouldn’t happen. And it was more because the show came through me. If the show came through Jude it wouldn’t have happened. I don’t have a problem with doing things as a family, but then the structure and proper organization is important too. The name Psquare is very big outside but inside we have no structure, I see people like Audu of Chocolate City, Mavin Records, even Ubi Franklin and I wanted us to have a structure like that. Psquare is just up there because of the grace of God.’

He also voiced out how he was disrespected by his twin brother Paul publicly at a backstage show.

‘It’s really sad that people have labeled me ‘Dancer’, and people don’t really know what I do for Psquare. Kudos to Paul, I’m not a good songwriter, in-fact I’ll rate myself 30%, so when it comes to song writing, I give it to Paul 100%.

‘However, not writing songs does not disqualify you from being a musician. I can tell you for free that a Nigerian wrote two of the songs on Rihanna’s new album. I’ve travelled a lot and most times people ask, ‘which one are you, the singer or the dancer’? And it’s really sad’.

‘In Psquare, I am the creative person, I can sit-down and tell you what people want to hear, what they want to see and what they want to learn from Psquare. But it’s not something to brag about’.

‘Jude directs all our videos’.

‘This whole thing began when Paul went online and started post lyrics of most of our songs on Instagram that he wrote them all, just because Peter brought in something to the table’.

‘I’ve been trying to bring more business for Psquare I didn’t know it was going to cause problems. I sent my manager to a meeting in Senegal to meet with Universal music about getting us deals, and when he came back, the way they responded to him wasn’t encouraging’.

‘So I had to send Diouf, the footballer to help get the documents and convince my brothers before we could pull through with the deal. And after some months, we started making money. Meanwhile, while filling the forms, Jude filled everything as Psquare. So the first money came, we shared it. The second money was bigger, it came and we shared it too. That was when Paul said we had to re-fill the form and give proper credit to the songwriter (Himself) and if the form is not brought back, he’s going to expose me and tell the world that he writes all the songs’.

‘And the next day he went online to post those lyrics. So my question is, when he was doing that what did Jude do about it? Absolutely nothing!’

But the most baffling issue about this is that neither Paul nor Jude responded to these claims which indirectly is accepted. Of course, they came back together after the break up with Peter releasing a video apologizing to the Square lovers but nothing was released from the other side of Paul and Jude which is a bit questionable. This was confirmed after they both released 'bank alert' and 'nobody ugly' until earlier this month when the conflict resurfaced and it seems far from ending as they've been exchanging shades and almost beating themselves in a recently leaked video.

You can watch the video below:
PSquare's Peter, Paul &Jude Okoye nearly fight each other at their Lawyer's office


To be continued:
Wait for the second part, i'll be giving full details on the details of the recent breakup.
Thanks
Written and compiled by Elite Ambassador
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