Majek Fashek, one step at a time

omotolani

July 11, 2016 1:46 PM

Majek at the young age of 10 joined the choir in his local church with his cousin and future band mate Amos McRoy Gregg.

Majek Fashek at Afropolitan Vibes

Our man crush this week is the reggae star, Majek Fashek!

Majekodunmi Fasheke, aka Majek Fashek, is a Nigerian reggae singer-songwriter and guitarist.

Known as the Rainmaker following his 1988 hit "Send down the rain", Majek has worked with various artists including Tracy Chapman, Jimmy Cliff, Michael Jackson, Snoop Dogg, and Beyoncé.

Majek at the young age of 10 joined the choir in his local church with his cousin and future band mate Amos McRoy Gregg and learned to play the trumpet and guitar whilst composing songs for the choir.

In the early 80s Fashek, who at the time went by the stage name Rajesh Kanal, joined the group Jastix with cousin McRoy Gregg. They were best known as the in-house band on the show Music Panorama on NTA Benin, and toured with fellow reggae group The Mandators.

In 1988, he began a solo career by releasing the album "Prisoner of Conscience" quickly becoming Nigeria's top reggae artist after the song "Send Down The Rain" became the most popular song of the year, and in 1989 he won six PMAN awards which includes: Song of the Year, Album of the Year and Reggae Artist of the Year.

Fashek was married to Rita Fashek who inspired the song "Without You", the couple had four children together, but have since divorced.

It was revealed in 2015 that Majek's career was plagued with drug addiction. After admitting that he needed help, he was admitted into a drug rehabilitation centre in Abuja and has since moved towards a journey of recovery.

omotolani