Is P-Square A Copycat Group Or What?

 I don't watch much TV, but my friend celebrated his birthday at a bar yesterday, and while waiting with another of my friends for some food we had ordered, P-Square's new video, Alingo came on. As is usual with P-Square, the video was well directed, and had nice cinematography. As we were going back to out seat, my friend told me that they had actually stolen the beat for Timaya's Shake Your Bum Bum track to make this particular song...then i was just thinking how lazy that was. We all know how hot Timaya's "Shake Your Bum" song is right now.

This made me just think of all the times I would hear a P-Square song, and there would always be that nagging feeling in my head...I would have that dejavu feeling like the song must have been a hit track in my previous life or something. But the truth is, the formula they use is to take a hot song from the past, or not too far past, and rework it. And once listeners hear it, they like it instantly because it resonates with something they once liked, that is now permanently locked in their subconscious mind.




I respect their hustle, but I am a lover of art, and if you are a lover of art, you can't but be put off by copy cats and non-original pieces. And to think they are top 3 biggest music stars in Nigeria right now...our ambassadors to the international world. I remember a rumour making rounds some years ago that Busta Rhymes didn't want to work with them cos he felt they were not original.




Let me take you through a couple of their songs where they had stolen a concept of an already hot track- Their Get Busy song is a copy of Usher's Yeah!; There Am I Still That Perfect Man is a copy of Craig David's Rendezvous; there Busy Body track had The Fugees Ready Or Not track interpolated into the chorus, and is also patterned towards Sean Paul's Give Me The Light; Their Danger song used the beat and pattern of Eminem's Without Me track. Even this new Alingo track got its title from the very popular Azonto dance that is hot in the country right now...let me stop here before I piss off some fans.




I think they have great voices, and are great performers  but it would be cool if they tried to be more original with their music.