Biography: Nigerian Artists 2

Peter & Paul Okoye (Psquare)

P-Square are a Nigerian R&B duo composed of identical twin brothers Peter and Paul Okoye born 18 November 1981 (Age 33) Jos, Nigeria. Native of Ifite Dunu, Anambra State of Nigeria. They are  Recording artist, singer,song-writer, performer,
Instruments vocals. They produce and release their albums through Square Records and they  have been active since 2003 till date.
The story of P-Square began in St. Mulumba secondary school, a small Catholic school in Jos, Nigeria. Identical twins Peter and Paul joined their school music and drama club where they began singing, dancing, and mimicking songs by MC Hammer, Bobby Brown and Michael Jackson.
They later formed a cappella quartet called “MMMPP” (M Clef a.k.a. Itemoh, Michael, Melvin, Peter and Paul). Drawing inspiration from their music idol 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 talent and precise dance routine soon made them household names in the city of Jos, where they performed at school functions and other occasions.
Later in 1999, Peter and Paul returned to music school to develop their skills on 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.
Later in 1999, they applied to the University of Abuja to study Business Administration. The Smooth Criminals became loose when its members left to study in various other universities. Subsequently Peter and Paul formed their own group, variously called “Double P”, “P&P”, “Da Pees” etc, until they eventually settled on “P Square”. They are managed by Bayo Odusami aka Howie T, a seasoned concert promoter and the CEO of Adrot Nigeria Limited.
In 2001, “P-Square” won the “Grab Da Mic” competition, and hence Benson & Hedges sponsored their debut album, titled Last Nite, which was released under Timbuk2 music label. P-Square was also nominated as “Most Promising African Group” in the Kora Awards three months after the release of their debut album. They eventually won the 2003 Amen Award for “Best R&B Group”
In 2005, P Square released their second album, Get Squared under their own label, Square Records. This album was marketed nationwide by TJoe Enterprises, although they were still managed by Howie T of Adrot Nigeria Limited. The video for the second album held the #1 position on the MTV Base chart for four straight weeks.
They have an ever growing fans based across South Africa with a particular stronghold of diehard fans in Cape Town.  Late in 2007, they released their best selling album so far, “Game Over.” It sold 8 million copies worldwide.
In 2009, P-Square released their fourth studio album, “Danger”. The album features collaborations with 2-Face Idibia, J Martins and Frenzy. The first single called “Danger” is a hip hop song with cutting synths and a frog bass baseline similar to an Eminem song. The video affirms this with the presence of clowns and staggered movements in front of the camera reminiscent of comical videos by Eminem. It was on the 18th January 2009 that Akon’s label,Konvict signed Wizkid, Psquare, Tuface. Psquare has performed alongside the following international artists like Ginuwine, Sean Paul, Akon and Busola Keshiro. Meanwhile P-Square are now located in Lagos as their residence in Nigeria.
In August 2012, P Square released a single titled “Alingo”, it became a smashing hit that took the whole of Africa by storm. The video shot and codirected by their elder brother Jude “Engees” Okoye and Clarence Peters of Capital hill Production was rated as the best video that year. Their latest smash hit again “Personally” released mid June 2013. The video is a tribute to late Michael Jackson who inspired their musical career till date. The video and song was such a hit that it got the attention of  Jermaine Jackson, late Michael Jackson’s brother who commended the stars for doing such a tremendous job and hoped to meet with them.
The duo are reported to handle most of their production/beat making in house. The band has been faced with many controversies for their habit of sampling western songs and popular hits in their records. They have addressed the issue many times in interviews as well as in the lyrics of their songs. Technically speaking, P Square does more in the line of reconstructing the drum patterns, chord progressions or lyrics of the sampled songs as against actually cutting parts of the song and directly sampling into their production. This accounts for the largely electronic feel of their sound. Some of the songs which have been called up on this account include “Get Squared”, “Game Over”, “Danger” and others.
On 4th April, 2010, P-Square was named the Artist of the Year at the KORA All Africa Music Awards in Ouagadougou, Burkina-Faso while they were in London for a Concert at the Troxy, and they will receive a whopping sum of $1 Million Dollars as the Award Winners, in Ebebiyin City.

These perfect twins as people say, have undoubtedly gained the hearts of their numerous fans all over the world. Some desperate ladies as Peter called them in one of his interviews about their embarrassing moments, kissed and romanced them in public place.
No doubt, P Square is the most successful African artists, and this is evident with the massive success of their numerous concerts in the continent. Over the years, the three time MTV award winning group has made an enviable impact in Africa, doing sold out concerts. And till date, the demand is still waxing stronger.

Below are some of the awards they have won over time:

– Hip Hop World Awards 2006 – Best R&B Album (Get Squared)

– Hip Hop World Awards 2006 – Best Music Video (Get Squared)

– Hip Hop World Awards 2006 – Album Of The Year (Get Squared)

– Hip Hop World Awards 2006 – Song Of The Year (Bizzy Body)

– City Mag 9th Awards Show (2006) – Best Hip Hop Group

– Nigerian Music Awards (NMA) 2006 – Album of the year (Get Squared)

– Nigerian Music Awards (NMA) 2006 – Music Video of the year (Get Squared)

– 2007 Channel O Music Video Awards – Best Duo Or Group

– 2008 Channel O Music Video Awards – Best Duo Or Group

– 2008 Channel O Music Video Awards – Video Of The Year (“Do Me”)

– 2010 Channel O Music Video Awards- Best  Group

– MTV Africa Music Awards 2008 – Best Group

– MTV Africa Music Awards 2009 – Best Group

– MTV Africa Music Awards 2010

– KORA Awards 2010 – Artiste of the Year

In 2013, Paul Okoye, one half of the musical duo, P-Square, was involved in a paternity scandal with a lady named Elshamah Igbanoi who claimed that Paul impregnated her; it was subsequently brought to our notice that he accepted the baby after agreeing to go for a DNA test to ascertain the paternity of the baby boy. These Nigerian celebrities are both married. Peter Okoye has been married to Lola Omotayo since November 2013 while the brother Paul Nonso Okoye is married to Anita Tonye Isama just last month, March 2014.

The latest news on air which their fans won’t stop talking about is the controversy in the Okoye family. The news is that the Okoye brothers that have been known as P-square for a very long time now want to forge their own parts due to several misunderstandings they  are having lately. We heard the dispute must have been caused by their wives, considering the fact that they had always been together for as long as we all can remember, until women formally came into their lives as wives.

Their mum died on 11th July 2012, five hours after a successful heart operation in India. Rumor had it that P-square are members of illuminatti, a very powerful deadly cult as people say, so for that reason, people hypothesized that they are responsible for the death of their own dear mum since nothing could be pointed at as the cause of the woman’s death five hours after a successfully carried out operation in India which is regarded worldwide as one of the countries with the very best  cardiothoracic surgeons.
But in the end, they denied not having hands in her death as anyone else in their shoes would.

Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun a.k.a Wizkid

Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun a.k.a Wizkid is a talented singer, songwriter and performer. He kicked off his singing career at the early age of 11 when he recorded his first song with one of Nigeria’s celebrated music icons, OJB Jezreel. He went on to record a 7-track album, which he released in his church in Lagos, under the name of Lil’ Prinz; this was just a stint that earned him a remarkable deal of encouragement and recognition from family, his church and other artistes.

Years later in 2006, with a new stage name, and a passion for making music and God-given talent, Wizkid got back into the studio to hone his craft. He continued to develop as a Singer and Songwriter by working under some of Nigeria’s biggest Musical names such as OJB Jezreel, Naeto C, Ikechukwu and many others. Over the next few years his talent as a Singer and Songwriter became evident and it resulted in Wiz being prominently featured alongside some of the biggest Artistes in Nigeria’s Music Industry to much critical and commercial acclaim.

2009 would prove to be Wizkid’s break-out year, as his collaboration with M.I on “Fast Money, Fast Cars” on the Talk About It album drew major attention to his distinct voice, singing style and penchant for great songwriting. He went on to feature on Kel’s “Turn by Turn”, the  Barcelos radio jingle and many other high profile projects. He also got signed to Banky W’s Empire Mates Entertainment, and featured prominently on Banky’s “The W Experience” album.

This extremely talented and charming young man is enrolled as a full-time student at a Private University in Nigeria; and although he only turns 20 this year, he has already achieved so much due to his talent and passion for turning his life’s experiences into incredible music.

Wizkid is currently working on his EME Records debut album, and has released his first two hit singles entitled “Holla at your Boy” and “Gidi Girl”.

Dapo Daniel Oyebanjo aka dbanj

Full Name: Dapo Daniel Oyebanjo

Stage Name: D’banj (also known as The Koko Master, Igwe, Skibanj)

Place of Birth: Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Home Town: Ogun State, Nigeria

Parents: Colonel Daniel Duro Oyebanjo and Faith Olubukolola Oyebanjo

Siblings: Kehinde, Shola, Yinka and Taiwo

Date of Birth: June 9, 1980

Marriage Status: Single

Children: –

Education: Mechanical Engineering from UNILAG (Lagos State University)

Languages: English

Hobbies: Singing, dancing, cooking, meeting new people and making friends

Occupation: Singer-songwriter, Instrumentalist

Awards:

Best African Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2007

Artist of the Year at the MTV Africa Music Awards 2008

Artist of the Year at the MTV Africa Music Awards 2009

BET Awards of 2011 for Best International Act; Africa

MTV EMA for Best African Act in 2012

Achievements:

D’banj also known as the Kokomaster, released his debut album “No long thing in 2005, revolutionizing the Nigerian music scene, his follow up albums include Rundown/Funk you up in 2006 and “The Entertainer” in 2008. His 2010 singles “Mr Endowed” and “Scapegoat” are on every music playlist across the continent of Africa.

D’banj is a founder of Koko Foundation for Youth and Peace Development. He is also Nigeria’s first United Nations Youth Ambassador for Peace.

In 2012, Dapo ‘D’banj’ Oyebanjo split from the Mo Hits Record crew and  joined the G.O.O.D Music family under Kanye West and was signed to Mercury Records, an imprint in the UK under the Mercury Records Group of Universal Music UK.

Albums

• No Long Thing (2005)
• Rundown Funk U Up (2006)
• The Entertainer (2008)
• Mr Endowed (To be released in between 2012/2013)

Singles

• Tongolo ft tola HU (2005)
• Socor (2005)
• Mobolowowon (2005)
• Run Down (2006)
• Why Me (2006)
• Move Your Body (featuring Wande Coal) (2007)
• Kimon (2008)
• Olorun Maje (2008)
• Gbono Fele (2008)
• Entertainer (2008)
• Suddenly (2008)
• Fall In Love (2008)
• Igwe (2008)
• Scapegoat (2009)
• Mr Endowed (2010)
• Mr Endowed Remix (featuring Snoop Dogg) (2010)
• Oliver Twist (2011)

Featured singles

• Wind Am Well (Ikechukwu featuring Don Jazzy & D’banj) (2008)
• Give It to Me (D’prince featuring D’banj) (2010)
• Fi Mi Le (Kas featuring D’banj & Tu Face)

Chinedu Okoli aka flavour

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• The very flexible and sexy Flavour goes by the real name of Chinedu Okoli, born on November 23rd 1983. He is a prolific Nigerian recording artist, dancer, songwriter, and performer. He began his musical career as a drummer for a local church in his hometown of Enugu State. Flavour is popularly known across Africa and the world for his massive club banger “Nwa Baby (Ashawo Remix)”.
• Flavour is the first son of a large family consisting of four siblings and seven step siblings. Flavour currently dwells in Lagos, Nigeria. Flavour’s family wasn’t very fond of his musical ambitions; they often dismissed it as a pipe dream. His mother in particular believed that his musical ambitions wouldn’t amount to anything,until things got out of hand.
  Flavour, who is well known for his ability to sing fluently in the Igbo language, was born in Enugu State, Nigeria. His family is originally from Umunze in Orumba South LGA, Anambra State, Nigeria. Flavour began his music career at the age of 13 when he started playing the drums for his church choir in Enugu. The resident pastor at his church introduced him to a friend, Chris I Ordor, the CEO of SoundCity Communications. Mr. Ordor had just started a musical company aimed at training young musicians on the basics of music and nurturing them all the way to a professional level. In 1996, Flavour was invited to join the company on an educational scholarship to study music. After three years of playing the drums, Flavour started playing the drums professionally. In 1999, Flavour moved on from playing the drums and started playing the keyboard. He also used to provide backing vocals for other musicians at SoundCity.
  At the age of 19, Flavour emerged unto Nigeria’s musical scene as a drummer and pianist for a local Enugu band. After learning to play drums professionally, Flavour received an offer to perform at City Centre, Enugu. The massive crowd at City Centre inspired him to gain new grounds and reach great heights. Flavour’s educational background in music enabled him to learn music production from Dekumzy, Isi Charles and Nnachie.
  In 2005, Flavour released his debut album N’abania through Obaino Music. The album’s success was relative and limited to Eastern Nigeria, particularly, Enugu State. Flavour collaborated with Mr. Raw on the album’s lead single titled “N’abania”. The song was recorded at Kingsley Ogoro’s studio in Lagos, Nigeria.
  Following the relative success of his debut album, Flavour released Uplifted in 2010. While working on the album, Flavour believed the album would surpass his previous works. Flavour’s projection came true when the album broke national barriers. Lolhiphop Records, an established record label in South Africa, released the album after popular demand. The album’s top singles include “Nwa Baby (Ashawo Remix)”, “Adamma”, and “Oyi Remix”, featuring Tiwa Savage.
• Blessed was released on 18 October 2012 through 2nite Entertainment and iROCKING LTD. The album is the successor to Uplifted. It is arguably Flavour’s biggest album to date due to the amount of producers that worked on it. It was launched on the same day of Flavour’s 2nite Club grand opening. In an interview with iROKTV, Flavour said: “I think I’m growing. This is my third album… Now it’s time to give them the music, like I define myself. I have to be more mature with my music, lyrics and instrumentation wise. I worked with tons of producers and the whole production process made sense.”
• Below are some of the awards he has won over time
  2013 Video Of The Year: Flavour (Ada Ada)
  2013 Best High Life Video: Flavour (Ada Ada)
  2013 Best Indigenous Concept: Flavour (Ada Ada)
  2013 Best Use Of Costumes: Flavour (Ada Ada)
  Channel O Music Video Awards -Best R&B Video: Oyi (Remix) featuring Tiwa Savage
  The HeadiesBest Collabo: Orobo, Sound Sultan featuring Excel and Flavour
  Nigeria Entertainment Awards Best Indigenous Artist/Group
  Hip Hop World Awards (The Headies)
  Best Collabo: “Number One”, M.I featuring Flavour
  On 29 August 2012, Nigerian Entertainment Today reported that Flavour N’abania was involved in a legal battle with Ghanaian singing duo Wutah, over the alleged theft of “Kwarikwa”. According to the article, “Kwarikwa” is an exact “replica” of Kotosa, a song made by the aforementioned singing duo. The singing duo accused Flavour N’abania of stealing their song’s rhythm, chorus, and tempo.
• Tiwatope Savage Balogun known as tiwa savage
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• Tiwatope Savage Balogun known by her stage name Tiwa Savage, is a Nigerian singer-songwriter, recording artist, performer, and actress. She is currently signed to Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Mavin Records. Savage sings in English and Yoruba.
• Tiwa Savage was born on born February 5, 1980, in Lagos, Nigeria. Her family relocated to London from Nigeria when she was 11 years old. Whilst attending high school, she was a trombone player for her school’s orchestra band. When asked about her childhood, Savage’s response was: “Growing up was very interesting. There were no barriers, I was just free. I had a very healthy upbringing. My parents ensured that I was grounded and I had lovely brothers.” After graduating with a degree in Business administration from the University of Kent, Savage started working at The Royal Bank of Scotland. Savage did backup vocals for George Michael at the age of 16 and lent vocals to other musicians such as Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, Blu Cantrell, Emma Bunton, Kelly Clarkson, Andrea Bocelli, and Ms. Dynamite among others. Furthermore, she has performed on stage with Sting, 50 Cent, The Black Eyed Peas, Eminem, Robbie Williams, and Destiny’s Child, to name a few.
  Not wanting to be a backup singer, Savage enrolled at Berklee College of Music and graduated with a degree in professional music at the age of 27. While reminiscing about her experiences there, she said: “When I came to Berklee and saw a lot of the younger students, their drive and their passion, it recharged my batteries…[They’re] not thinking, ‘I’m going to save about $10,000 before I move,’ no, ‘I’m just going to get my backpack and move.’ I needed that fresh air, that atmosphere. I kind of felt like a 19-year-old.” Speaking on the challenges musicians face during their transition from backup to lead, Savage said: “It’s a whole different ballgame. Doing backgrounds, you just turn up at the gig and if it gets a bad review, it had nothing to do with you. If you’re the artist, you take a lot of stuff personally.” Her business background has helped her fully understand the scope of the Nigerian music industry. Speaking about her business background, she said: “It’s helping me now with my band, when we get contracts, when we have to pay people, when we have to be professional in dealing with people…Sometimes when people see that you’re educated and you know what you’re talking about, they don’t really want to mess with you, swindle you or something.”
  In 2006, Savage participated in UK’s X-Factor and made it to the final 24 while attending the aforementioned music school. While participating in UK’s X factor, she had difficulty dealing with the limelight. “You have to always realize that people are watching. When I got the bad news that I wasn’t getting through [to the final 12] it was a really painful time. But you still have to learn how to hold that until you get home. Because you don’t want to just let everything out. People admire you and want to see that you’re strong; they don’t want to see you breaking down” said Tiwa.
  In 2009, Sony/ATV Music Publishing signed Savage to a music deal. The deal solidified her to write for Babyface, Kat Deluna, Fantasia Barrino, Monica and Mýa, among others. She has received songwriting credits for her contribution to Monica’s soul-tinged ballad “Catch Me”. Moreover, her collaboration with Fantasia on the song “Collard Greens & Cornbread” earned the American recording artist a grammy nomination in 2010. Savage wrote Jaicko’s “Oh Yeah” featuring Snoop Dogg, Kat Deluna’s “Push Push” featuring Akon and David Guetta, and performed background vocals on Whitney Houston’s album I Look to You. She was featured on Flavour N’abania’s “Oyi Remix”. In December 2011, she co-hosted Season 2 of the Nigerian Idol alongside IllRymz. Moreover, she made her film debut with Joke Silva and Ireti Doyle in the stage adaptation of “For Coloured Girls”. Savage became the first African female artist to be associated with the Pepsi brand after signing an endorsement deal with them. Savage has been involved in many youth empowerment and breast cancer screening projects across Nigeria. She said: “I’ve met with a lot of organizations and already put up something to fight breast cancer. Very soon, screenings will start especially for young girls. I also visit the motherless homes quite often but I don’t put it in the press because I don’t want to expose those kids.”
• Savage established her own label imprint, 323 Entertainment with her manager Tunji “TJ Billz” Balogun whom she got engaged to on February 5, 2013. In as much as she likes writing for other artists, she finds writing for herself more rewarding. She said: “I have political songs like ‘Middle Passage,’ which is about the struggles of African men in a foreign country”. When asked about her experiences with relocating to three different places, Savage said “Living in all three places—in Africa, in Europe, and now the United States—has really opened my eyes. I’m really accepting a lot of cultures. I feel a lot older than I am, because I’ve seen a lot. A lot of poverty in Nigeria, but people still smiling when they don’t even have water…I kept saying to myself that when I made it I was going to invest millions and I just realized I have to do stuff now. People always say, when I make it…If you don’t discipline yourself now, you’re never going to do it, even if you do get millions.” Tiwa helped raise money for an organization that build schools in her hometown. Savage joined Don Jazzy’s Mavin Records in 2012 after the label she co-owns teamed up with the executive producer. She was one of the lead artists on the record label’s first compilation album entitled Solar Plexus.
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• When Savage stepped onto Nigeria’s musical landscape, she didn’t know what to expect. Moreover, she received a lot of ridicule and hostility from people who believed she wouldn’t make it. She said: “a lot of people tried to discourage me from coming home. They told me that people who came before me were not really welcomed home, and that it is even worse for a female singer. They even said there was no way I could be on the same stage with the likes of Tuface, Wizkid and many others. I got discouraged somehow.” Savage didn’t allow people’s negative connotation of her discourage her from doing music. She released her debut single “Kele Kele Love”. The song made its way to the top of several Nigerian music charts. Savage’s sultry tones, pulsating dance moves, and electric stage presence immensely propelled her to the top of the Nigerian music industry.
• In July 2013, Savage signed an endorsement deal with MTN Nigeria, allegedly worth N30 million. She also signed endorsement deals with Pepsi, Forte Oil, and Maggi.
  Savage networked with Berklee alumni Keith Harris, Derek Pate, Scott Coleman, Radar Ellis, and Darien Dorsey while attending the school. During her interview with Brenda Pike, she said that she collaborated with Chuck Harmony, Warren “Oak” Felder, and producer So Sick (Da Grin), among others. Moreover, she said that her debut album will include records in her native tongue. On July 3, 2013, she released her long awaited debut album Once Upon a Time to the Nigerian public. The album was released on iTunes a day before the Nigerian release. In an interview with Vanguard Media Limited, Savage said:
• “This album [Once Upon a Time] is straight from my heart and it’s something that I’ve worked so tirelessly for. A lot of people wondered why it took me so long a time to drop my own album. That’s because we had to go through a lot of legal processes to clear some of the samples that we used, and that took us some months. Also, we wanted to work with notable producers outside the shores of the country like Oak who produces Rihanna. So, we had to work around his schedule and waited for them to have our time. But this album is something that I really took my time with because I didn’t want it to be the usual Nigerian album that contains just party tracks from the beginning till the end.”
  When asked why she named her album Once Upon a Time, Savage said: “Once you hear ‘Once Upon a Time’, you know it’s story time. My life has been an amazing story and I wanted to reflect that on my album. Also, I wanted to motivate other upcoming artistes that, once upon a time, I was a little girl living at Isale Eko and I dreamt of doing this, and here I am doing it. So, I want their ‘once upon a time’ to turn into reality. It’s a 19-track album.”
• On November 23, 2013, Savage and Tunji “Tee Billz” Balogun held their traditional marriage at the Ark in Lekki. Nigerian businessmen and celebrities who attended the wedding include Femi Otedola, Aliko Dangote, Don Jazzy, Banky W., Rita Dominic, Davido, Lola Okoye (wife of Peter Okoye), Toolz, Eniola Badmus, Omawumi, Iyanya, King Sunny Ade, Agbani Darego, Dr SID, Toke Makinwa, and Karen Igho, among others. On 26 April 2014, the couple had their white wedding at the Armani Hotel in Dubai.