More than two years after their highly-publicised reunion, Nigerian singing twin sensation Peter and Paul Okoye, popularly known as P-Square, have split again.
Popular singer and half of PSquare, Paul Nonso Okoye, aka Rudeboy, confirmed the latest separation with his twin brother, Peter Okoye, aka Mr P, during a recent interview with a popular FM station.
The twin brothers, who started their musical career in 1999 and dominated the African music industry for over a decade, first separated in 2016.
The brothers , in 2021, patched things up after a four-year rift and several public controversies that alienated colleagues and fans.
During their initial split, Paul (Rudeboy) released songs like “Fire Fire” and “Nkenji Keke,” among others, while, Peter, (Mr P) released tracks such as “For My Head” and “Cool It Down.”
The 42-year-old singer revealed that their problems started in 2014 when they released the song ‘Ejeajo’ featuring T.I, a famous American rapper and multiple Grammy winner whose real name is Clifford Harris.
Rudeboy explained that their initial separation was caused by the public’s misconception about who primarily sings their songs.
He explained that before they collaborated with T.I., there was debate among their fans that Paul (Rudeboy) was the songwriter with the sweet voice while Peter was the dancer.
Rudeboy acknowledged this contributed to their 2017 separation and affected their song ‘Ejeajo’ with T.I., as fans missed his signature voice on their tracks.
This time around, our elder brother, Jude Okoye, who people accused of causing issues amongst us has no hands in this. When we came back, Jude was not even in the picture at all. No manager, no director, nothing. He was still on his own.
“There’s a lot people don’t know, and that’s why I always tell people, mind the people you bring close, especially people that were never there when you were somewhere.
He said, “The plan of our coming back together was going to produce a lot of hit albums. But as it is now, I’m just focusing on Rudeboy. Trust me, it is not everything that I would want to say,” he said.
“I was accused of saying that he (Peter) was the dancer, while I’m the singer. I know that , whenever we go to the airport, people ask are you a singer or a dancer? I didn’t know it was touching him. But I know there was a time we came together and said, ‘don’t allow this thing get to you, you should be proud of what you’re doing. That’s the role you’re playing.’
“We have a song we did with T.I, ‘Eja Jo’. That was when the issue started. Till today, that song is still on three million views 15 years after, because people didn’t hear the PSquare’s voice that they are used to.
“When we came back together, because I didn’t want the issues that happened before, I told my brother to show himself, let us be involved in the creative process together. I told him we should share who carries the tracks equally but still it wasn’t working.
“The new PSquare was peaceful. I needed the past mistakes not to repeat themselves. But then , again, he (Peter) said he’s no more doing (no longer interested). In fact, he told me in the face that he wants to quit. I asked if we could make it public and he refused. But what will happen when I go solo? People will call me the bad person. That’s why I’m speaking up now.”
The singer said he made all the decisions to protect and maintain P-Square, but the efforts were unsuccessful.
