Wednesday, June 3, 2020

MAJEK FASHEK: LIFE AND TIMES OF ‘SEND DOWN THE RAIN’ REGGAE CROONER

Majekodunmi Fasheke, popularly known as Majek Fashek was an Edo State born Nigerian reggae-crooner. He played many musical instruments, but he was popular as a guitarist. Members of his defunct band “JASTIX” including Amos McRoy Jegg, George O’Well and Black were extremely popular reggae instrumentalists and studio session musicians in Lagos in the 1980s. Unfortunately, JASTIX Band as popular as they were then could not record any album of their own due to some disappointments, they suffered from music producers and record companies, especially the defunct JAPEX Records.
MAJEK FASHEK
However, Majek Fashek was a man of destiny. He was employed by the Tabansi Records as an artiste promotion manager and before long he mesmerized the company’s management with his style of singing and a voice remarkably close to that of the late reggae legend Bob Marley. The proprietor of the company late Chief G.A.D. Tabansi signed him to record an album for the label. The then magic finger, Lemmy Jackson was hired by the company to produce the record. The album titled “PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE” was released in 1987 and it became an instant hit. One of the nine tracks in the album “Send Down The Rain” became a sort of a national anthem in Nigeria in the late 1980s.
MAJEK FASHEK ON STAGE IN PORT HARCOURT IN 1987
Upon the fortune and fame that this debut reggae album brought to both Majek and the Tabansi Records, the business soon turned sore and there was a long press war between the artiste and the company which culminated in Majek Fashek’s switch over to another record label, CBS Records. He recorded two albums “I & I Experience” and “So Long Too Long” for the CBS Records but none of them was as successful as his debut. With his dwindling fortune and fame, he joined the Golden Fleece to America. He recorded some songs in the United States of America but was not able to break-even or penetrate the American market. The press did not help matters; he was given negative publicity. Many reported his drug related problems and some even reported that he ran mad and was repatriated back to Nigeria to be treated and rehabilitated in a church!
MAJEK FASHEK
When the reggae-crooner came back to Nigeria, an entertainment outfit “A-Plus Global Entertainment” tried to repackage him to stage a comeback without success. However, in December 2016 Majek Fashek contributed the song "We Are Not Afraid" to a video featuring 200 celebrities to raise funds for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Human Rights Watch (HRW). Majek has worked at different times with various artists worldwide, including Tracy Chapman, Jimmy Cliff, Michael Jackson, Snoop Dogg and Beyonce.
MAJEK FASHEK ON STAGE
Sadly the ‘Rain Maker’ lost a battle with cancer and died on Monday June 1, 2020 in a New York hospital at the age of 57.

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