Majek Fashek
2m
African reggae star Majek Fashek , whose real name is Majekodunmi Fasheke, was born on March 1963 in Benin City and died on 1 June 2020. Many of Fasheke's Songs became very popular and trendy on social media in line with a great number of streaming and downloads on Boomplay
His name means "power of miracles, the high priest does not live ", had a very close involvement with the late Nigerian drummer and bandleader Fela Anikulapo Kuti. As a Nigerian singer-songwriter and guitarist, Fashek attracted international attention, in 1987, when his self-penned tune, "Send Down The Rain, "seemed to coax a rain storm that ended one of the worst draughts in Nigeria' s history.
His 1988 debut solo album Prisoner of Conscience included the single "Send Down the Rain", which won six PMAN Music Awards. Also known as The Rainmaker, he worked with various artists worldwide including Tracy Chapman, Jimmy Cliff, Michael Jackson, Snoop Dogg, and Beyoncé. The album sold more than 200,000 copies in Nigeria alone.
Labled a "prophet ", Fashek also became one of Africa's greatest reggae-influenced performers.
Career
Fashek inherited his love of music from his mother, an Edo woman who raised him following the death of his father when he was 11 years old. A businesswoman, who supplied concrete to road contractors, she inspired him through her participation in traditional religious ceremonies where the Olokun rhythms were used to accompany worship of the river goddess. As a youngster, Fashek played maracas during the ceremonies.
In the early 80s Fashek, who at the time went by the stage name Rajesh Kanal, joined the group Jastix with musicians Amos McRoy Gregg and Black Rice. The trio soon gained popularity as the in-house band on the NTA Benin show Music Panorama, and toured with fellow reggae group The Mandators. Jastix were also session musicians for an upcoming reggae singer Edi Rasta, who would later be known as Evi-Edna Ogholi.
In 1987, shortly after Jastix disbanded, Fashek, who now used the name Majek Fashek, signed with Tabansi Records and began a solo career, releasing the album Prisoner of Conscience and quickly becoming Nigeria's top reggae artist after the song "Send Down The Rain" became the most popular song of the year. In 1989, he won six PMAN awards for "Song of the Year", "Album of the Year", and "Reggae Artist of the Year" among others. Fashek's next album was I&I Experience which was released in late 1989 under the Tabansi Label, and included the anti-apartheid anthem "Free Africa, Free Mandela" which sampled Steam's Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.
After leaving Tabansi Records, Fashek was signed to CBS Nigeria in the early 1990s and released So Long Too Long. It was included on Putumayo World Music's first album. In 1990 he was signed to Interscope Records and released the critically acclaimed album Spirit Of Love, produced by "Little Steven" Van Zandt. In 1992, he appeared on Late Night with David Letterman in support of his new 1991 album, and performed the song "So Long Too Long" for the television audience. Flame Tree released The Best of Majek Fashek in 1994.
He was later dropped by Interscope before moving to Mango, a division of Island Records accustomed to marketing reggae internationally. His first album for the company included a cover version of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song". He has recorded several albums for various labels since, including Rainmaker for Tuff Gong (1997) and Little Patience for Coral (2004). Fashek's musical influences include Bob Marley, whom he resembled vocally, Jimi Hendrix, and Fela Kuti.
He was one of the original Nigerian artists drawn to Caribbean music, specifically reggae, rather than indigenous hybrids such as fuji, jùjú, but was known to mix these genres to create his own style he called kpangolo, and the song "My Guitar", an ode to his favourite instrument, was heavily influenced by rock. Fashek had a supporting role in the 2000 Nollywood movie Mark of the Beast and starred in a commercial for non-alcoholic beverage Diamalt.
In 2016 he performed to audience of over 10,000 people in a comedy show hosted by Ayo Makun in Eko Hotel Hall, Lagos. In December 2016 Fashek contributed the song "We Are Not Afraid" to a video directed by former 10CC member Kevin Godley featuring over 200 celebrities including 53 members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to raise funds for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Human Rights Watch (HRW). Besides his struggle with drug addiction, other health conditions required Fashek's hospitalisation on several occasions.
He was rumored dead in September 2019 but his manager quelled the rumors, confirming that Fashek had indeed been critically ill, hospitalized at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, London in the UK, and in dire need of financial assistance. Billionaire businessman and philanthropist Femi Otedola pledged to cover all the singer's medical expenses. Fashek died in his sleep on 1 June 2020 in New York City. He was 57
His name means "power of miracles, the high priest does not live ", had a very close involvement with the late Nigerian drummer and bandleader Fela Anikulapo Kuti. As a Nigerian singer-songwriter and guitarist, Fashek attracted international attention, in 1987, when his self-penned tune, "Send Down The Rain, "seemed to coax a rain storm that ended one of the worst draughts in Nigeria' s history.
His 1988 debut solo album Prisoner of Conscience included the single "Send Down the Rain", which won six PMAN Music Awards. Also known as The Rainmaker, he worked with various artists worldwide including Tracy Chapman, Jimmy Cliff, Michael Jackson, Snoop Dogg, and Beyoncé. The album sold more than 200,000 copies in Nigeria alone.
Labled a "prophet ", Fashek also became one of Africa's greatest reggae-influenced performers.
Career
Fashek inherited his love of music from his mother, an Edo woman who raised him following the death of his father when he was 11 years old. A businesswoman, who supplied concrete to road contractors, she inspired him through her participation in traditional religious ceremonies where the Olokun rhythms were used to accompany worship of the river goddess. As a youngster, Fashek played maracas during the ceremonies.
In the early 80s Fashek, who at the time went by the stage name Rajesh Kanal, joined the group Jastix with musicians Amos McRoy Gregg and Black Rice. The trio soon gained popularity as the in-house band on the NTA Benin show Music Panorama, and toured with fellow reggae group The Mandators. Jastix were also session musicians for an upcoming reggae singer Edi Rasta, who would later be known as Evi-Edna Ogholi.
In 1987, shortly after Jastix disbanded, Fashek, who now used the name Majek Fashek, signed with Tabansi Records and began a solo career, releasing the album Prisoner of Conscience and quickly becoming Nigeria's top reggae artist after the song "Send Down The Rain" became the most popular song of the year. In 1989, he won six PMAN awards for "Song of the Year", "Album of the Year", and "Reggae Artist of the Year" among others. Fashek's next album was I&I Experience which was released in late 1989 under the Tabansi Label, and included the anti-apartheid anthem "Free Africa, Free Mandela" which sampled Steam's Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.
After leaving Tabansi Records, Fashek was signed to CBS Nigeria in the early 1990s and released So Long Too Long. It was included on Putumayo World Music's first album. In 1990 he was signed to Interscope Records and released the critically acclaimed album Spirit Of Love, produced by "Little Steven" Van Zandt. In 1992, he appeared on Late Night with David Letterman in support of his new 1991 album, and performed the song "So Long Too Long" for the television audience. Flame Tree released The Best of Majek Fashek in 1994.
He was later dropped by Interscope before moving to Mango, a division of Island Records accustomed to marketing reggae internationally. His first album for the company included a cover version of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song". He has recorded several albums for various labels since, including Rainmaker for Tuff Gong (1997) and Little Patience for Coral (2004). Fashek's musical influences include Bob Marley, whom he resembled vocally, Jimi Hendrix, and Fela Kuti.
He was one of the original Nigerian artists drawn to Caribbean music, specifically reggae, rather than indigenous hybrids such as fuji, jùjú, but was known to mix these genres to create his own style he called kpangolo, and the song "My Guitar", an ode to his favourite instrument, was heavily influenced by rock. Fashek had a supporting role in the 2000 Nollywood movie Mark of the Beast and starred in a commercial for non-alcoholic beverage Diamalt.
In 2016 he performed to audience of over 10,000 people in a comedy show hosted by Ayo Makun in Eko Hotel Hall, Lagos. In December 2016 Fashek contributed the song "We Are Not Afraid" to a video directed by former 10CC member Kevin Godley featuring over 200 celebrities including 53 members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to raise funds for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Human Rights Watch (HRW). Besides his struggle with drug addiction, other health conditions required Fashek's hospitalisation on several occasions.
He was rumored dead in September 2019 but his manager quelled the rumors, confirming that Fashek had indeed been critically ill, hospitalized at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, London in the UK, and in dire need of financial assistance. Billionaire businessman and philanthropist Femi Otedola pledged to cover all the singer's medical expenses. Fashek died in his sleep on 1 June 2020 in New York City. He was 57
