Nigerian comedienne, Helen Paul, has revealed that she was the voice behind ‘Story’, a hit track from the album “Get Squared”, the sophomore album by Nigerian recording artist “P-Square”.
Released in 2005, the Nigerian Music duo, consisting of the twin brothers Paul and Peter Okoye (popularly called P-Square) had one album to their name before the ‘Get Squared’ album, and was not as popular as they became after the album’s release 18 years ago.
P’Square was launched into mainstream recognition after releasing “Senorita”, the hit track from their debut album titled “Last Nite” which was released under Timbuk2 music label in 2003, but gained wider recognition after the release of their sophomore album “Get Squared” in 2005, and the rest they say was history.
However, an untold part in the story of P-Square, who went on to become a household name in the Nigerian music industry, was told by a former studio receptionist who later grew to become the famous Helen Paul, aka Tatafo, during a guest appearance on The Honest Bunch Podcast.
According to her, P’Square were apparently ‘disappointed’ by some children who were expected to voice on the track ‘Story’ at the studio where she worked as a receptionist. She revealed that the children failed to show up and she was recommended for the gig.
Asked if she was the voice behind P’Square’s hit song ‘Story’ she replied, “Yes, it’s my voice back when I didn’t have money(broke). ‘Uncle, please tell us a story’,” she said, repeating her lines in the song story.
Discussing self-worth and inferiority complex on the podcast, the popular presenter cum comedienne revealed that she was not paid but only got a ‘soft drink’ on request.
She said, “They didn’t even pay me, I’ll be sincere. It happened with almost all the jobs I did at the beginning. I didn’t know P Square. I didn’t even know they were going to blow. They came to the studio, and they wanted to record their songs. I think they were expecting some children to come and got disappointed. So, Ayoadeife said, “We have somebody who can do this voice, and this person can do all the range children,” she added.
“I didn’t know what range was, but I was just very good at imitating voices to date. I was a receptionist then, and when they told them, they agreed. And the guy just said, Helen, ‘You will work in the nights, but we’re not paying much. I said, I don’t care; just buy me a ‘soft drink’, because I loved it at the time.
“So they gave me the job, and I did the voicing of the children in the song. So they merged all the different children. So it sounded full. When the song started reigning, I didn’t even know what it was to put your name on a song; I didn’t fight for it.”
However, life took a surprise turn when she moved from earning N9,500 monthly to over N400,000 monthly, after an opportunity to voice a popular Peak Milk advert.
She said, “The next job I did was for another milk product. I was at the reception when they brought this job, and they told me the child that was to do it was having exams. They said they would not be able to take that in the office because the advert needed to air at 3 p.m. and it was 12 p.m., so they were looking for a baby voice.
“Uncle Ayo said, ‘Let’s try Helen’ and they brought me in to lay the voice, which I did. After the ad, I signed a paper for which I didn’t know the content. At that point, my salary was N9,500; I started receiving about N400,000 or N450,00 every month.”
