… Why Darkoo Should Come Out Straight
We are constrained but with an utmost need to set the records straight over what we consider an opportunistic and selfish statement put out by rising music act, Darkoo.
We find it appalling and disheartening that this rising music act would make malicious and fallacious statements on social media just to promote her new song.
Rather than focus on selling her craft with authenticity and sincerity, the music artist has decided to make unfounded and malicious claims against our client, Peter Okoye aka Mr. P, who sits comfortably as a seasoned and globally respected recording artist as well as our reputable management firm, ONE MANAGEMENT.
FACTS
1. Darkoo approached our client to assist in clearing her song, which sampled one of P-Square’s hit songs, ‘Gimme Dat,’ after recording and putting the song on social media claiming it was ‘gaining traction on Tiktok’.
2. As one who has always supported younger artists, our client (Mr. P) guided her on the proper channel to get the sample cleared and even shared his own experience in a similar situation when there were challenges.
3. Darkoo then offered Mr P a feature in the remix, saying she would want to shoot the video soon. Mr P told her his schedule was packed in December, hence, he doubted his availability.
4. Based on the current dynamic of the entity, P-SQUARE, our client (Mr. P) was adamant that the song should be cleared through the proper channel to avoid any misleading assumptions on her part and to avert any IP landmines.
5. Darkoo mentioned that her team was handling it and had reached out to Northside Entertainment. Our client promptly informed her that Northside is not the proper channel and it would be best to have her team reach out to his management who would put her in touch with the current administrators of P-SQUARE’s catalogue and ensure that all stakeholders in P-SQUARE are aware of this development (the request for sample clearance).
6. Mr. P shared his manager’s details (our CEO) with Darkoo to aid in directing her team to the administrators, yet no one from her team got in touch until two days to the release of the video on YouTube. Obviously, Darkoo and her team knew they were going to release the song anyway and had been playing a deliberate game to remain incommunicado.
7. All the while, Darkoo and her team had ignored messages and calls to her to find out if she had been able to get the needed clearance. When she reverted to our client after ONE Management had instituted complaints, she claimed that it was due to the ‘network in Nigeria.’
8. The music video was released on January 2, 2025, on the popular video sharing platform and ONE Management reached out to Darkoo and her team to find out how the song was released without due process. We even gave a grace period of 72 hours before requesting a take down, to avoid issues with clearance from the other stakeholders in the P-SQUARE mix. Unknown to us, Darkoo and her team had signed a visibly flawed document under the wrong entity and authorisation.
9. All of a sudden, Darkoo became available to speak, sending messages to our client (Mr. P) explaining how she had no idea about the ‘ins and outs’, and noting that it was her team who were responsible for the miscommunication and misdirection.
10. It was at this point her team reached out to ONE Management seeking a solution to resolving the issue.
11. The issue was finally resolved with a proper agreement between ALL parties involved, executing the contract and not just one person or a non-existent entity – all at our client’s (Mr. P) insistence. Immediately the document was perfected, ONE Management requested the video be reinstated on the video sharing platform.
REACTION
Our client, Mr. P, had always insisted on business being done properly and conducted according to global standards. Hence, he gave a listening ear and tried guiding a younger artist properly and insisting that everyone in P-SQUARE be carried along.
However, Darkoo and her team had sought to get clearance from an entity, which is unauthorised to represent the music group, P-SQUARE.
This is not her first rodeo with sampling yet clearance was sought after releasing the song into public domain, then getting clearance from an entity that no longer exists, whose ownership is currently in contention.
Sadly, Darkoo didn’t ‘rant’ about a disservice or sabotage when the video was taken down, rather she reached out to our client (Mr. P) to salvage the situation but she suddenly found her voice once the video was reinstated on the video-sharing platform, calling him a saboteur.
As much as we do not want to believe the actions of Darkoo and her team are geared towards sensationalising a professional matter, it is obvious she wants to capitalise on the supposed P-SQUARE feud for popularity, clout and trend by maligning the one person that advised her on doing the right thing from the beginning.
The only items that were modified in the proper agreement and clearance were:
The entity (SQUARE Records and not Northside Ent) and including ALL the stakeholders in the duo P-SQUARE.
The initial 50% split was requested by the individual she approached initially and was not a request from our client for himself. That she implied this in her rant is malicious and a deliberate attempt to portray him in a bad light.
Society4 years ago
