P-Square's Electrifying Performance Changed My Life: Flavour Recounts the Moment His Music Journey Took a New Turn

 

Nigerian highlife sensation Chinedu Okoli, better known as Flavour, has opened up about a defining moment in his early music career that reshaped his entire artistic journey. The “Ada Ada” crooner shared this revelation during a recent appearance on the In My Opinion podcast, where he candidly recalled the night he realized the stark difference between simply performing music and becoming a true artist.

Flavour painted a vivid picture of an event that took place years ago, long before he became a household name. At the time, he was performing live music at a show, playing to a crowd that he thought was enjoying his sound. Everything changed, however, when Peter and Paul Okoye of P-Square walked into the venue.

As the twin brothers made their entrance, the atmosphere shifted dramatically. The crowd’s anticipation grew palpable, and Flavour was abruptly asked to hand over the microphone. “I was playing and immediately P-Square came in, the manager said ‘Hello, get off that thing!’” he recalled, clearly still able to feel the moment’s intensity. Dutifully, he stopped playing and stepped aside to observe.

Watching from the sidelines, Flavour saw something he would never forget. P-Square took over the stage with confidence and charisma. The crowd’s reaction was nothing short of explosive. Paul Okoye, with his distinct voice, began to sing their hit track Temptation, and the venue erupted in excitement. “Girls were saying ‘wow wow wow’ and Paul of P-Square took the microphone and just sang ‘This na temptation’, everywhere scattered,” Flavour said, describing the electrifying response from the audience.

For Flavour, this was more than just a performance; it was a revelation. In that moment, he recognized the gulf between being a performer and being an artist. He admitted feeling a mix of awe and confusion, wondering how the same music he played could evoke such a starkly different reaction when it came from the Okoye brothers. “So I was like, ‘na the same music these people dey do, me dey here with una, una shout like this for me,’” he said.

As P-Square wrapped up their performance and exited the stage, the manager turned back to Flavour and asked him to resume. However, by then, something had already shifted in his mindset. The incident left him with a crucial realization: what truly set artists apart was not just talent or performance skills, but the ability to create original music that resonated with people.

He confessed that the realization wasn’t easy to digest. “That’s when it started to occur to me that these guys, the difference is they create their own music,” he explained. “They make a sound and go to the studio and record and that’s how it’s done, and you are just a music man.” That one experience forced Flavour to confront the limits of his then-current approach to music.

Even though he was already a skilled performer who could sing and play instruments, he realized that wasn’t enough. What he needed was to build a sound of his own, something that would define him as an artist. “So, how do I switch from music man to an artist? That was the difficult part of it,” Flavour admitted. “And I thought it was going to be easy because I could play, I could sing…but now to create your own sound, where are you going to start from?”

That moment of uncertainty eventually became the catalyst for transformation. Flavour went on to build a successful music career, known for blending traditional highlife with contemporary Afrobeat influences. Today, he is celebrated not just for his vocal abilities, but for a distinct sound that has won him millions of fans across Africa and beyond.

Flavour’s story serves as a testament to the power of inspiration and the importance of evolving as an artist. Sometimes, a single moment of clarity can ignite the spark that leads to greatness. For Flavour, it came on a night when he was asked to step aside, only to watch a masterclass in artistry unfold before his eyes. That experience, he now says, was the moment he stopped being just a music man and began his journey toward becoming an artist.