Afropop artiste May D has shared new insights into his widely publicised fallout with the music group P-Square and their label, Square Records.
In a snippet from an unreleased episode of the Honest Bunch podcast, the 40-year-old singer recounted how his relationship with the P-Square brothers deteriorated, particularly after a missed opportunity involving American-Senegalese artiste Akon.
May D, who joined Square Records in 2011 but left the label in 2012 over internal disputes, explained that tensions began when he was excluded from the music video shoot for the remix of P-Square’s hit song ‘Chop My Money’, which featured Akon.
“Initially, they (P-Square) did not want to sign me. They were just like let us help you the way we helped J Martins and Bracket. When we went to shoot ‘Chop My Money’ video, I was in Nigeria, they had gone to shoot the video. Akon did not show up till I came to America, he was like he wanted me to be in the video,” he said.
According to May D, Akon refused to shoot the video without him, leading the singer to travel to America to participate. During his visit, he said Akon expressed interest in signing him to multiple deals and invited him back to the US.
“I was wondering Akon jumped on ‘Chop My Money’ and they were like ‘Yes he did. So I have to be in America for the video because Akon said if I am not in America, he is not going to shoot the video.’
“When I got to America, Akon called me to his office and was like ‘Guy I have many deals for you, when you get back to Nigeria, call me. This is my number, I will book you a flight, you will come back to America,’” he said.
May D admitted that after returning to Nigeria, he informed the P-Square brothers about Akon’s offers, a move he now considers a mistake. He claimed their relationship began to sour after the disclosure.
“He (Akon) asked if I had any deal with these guys, I said no. He said ‘I am not going to say anything, when you get to America we will talk’. When I got to Nigeria, as an honest and clean guy, I told P-Square because they were the ones who took me there. If I had known, I would not have told them,” he said.
