“I planned leaving P-Square since 2007” – Paul Okoye spills more details about breakup with Peter

The singers were members of defunct music group, P-Square, and inarguably left a mark in the African music industry before their messy separation in 2017.

Since their split, there have been speculations about what truly transpired between the twins but it was gathered that they supposedly separated over irreconcilable family issues.

In an exclusive interview with Saturday Beats, Rudeboy revealed that the music group had lingering issues long before their final separation in 2017.

In his words,

“I actually started my career as a solo artiste and I had recorded quite a number of songs. My twin brother (Peter) also had a dance group which I was part of before but left after some time.

“He [Peter] was brought in to create a unique group [P-Square] that would be different from other groups in existence. I was singing while he would dance, and it was the idea of our elder brother, Jude. We only had a stage collaboration, not a music collaboration.
What made P-Square was the division of labour we practised. I was in charge of singing, Peter handled the dancing aspect and stagecraft, while Jude was our manager and he directed our videos.

“However, it got to a point when one person started making demands and called for the sack of some members of the team. Because we wanted peace to reign, we would let the affected employees go. That went on for some time but it got to a time that things could no longer continue that way.

“Our case is like that of a husband and wife whose marriage is not working but post lovely pictures on social media. People who don’t know the details would see the rosy pictures and plead for the union not to break up. But, they don’t know what is happening behind closed doors. The best thing is actually for them to go their separate ways.

“Some people think that all these started recently but it has been going on for a long time. I can confidently tell you that my first solo album was supposed to be ‘Game Over’ (released in 2007). That title, ‘Game Over’, meant I was done with the group.

I recorded the album as a solo artiste and sent it to some people but they were surprised that I was the only one on the album. People said different things and I later shelved my plan.”

Speaking about a possible collaboration with his brother even if they don’t come back as a music group, The 39-year-old singer said,

“The question is, does he see us together? It is not compulsory that everybody in a music group must sing.

P-Square was never a group of two singers (rather, it was a group of one singer and one dancer). I honestly tried my best for the group to work. There are so many issues the public are unaware of that led us to this point. I choose not to say many things because I want to protect my family.”