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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 23, 2016
SUPER SATURDAY Majek Fashek
My Rehab was for Spiritual Rebirth
Nigerian-born reggae star, Majekodunmi Fasheke otherwise known as Majek Fashek, attracted international attention in 1987 when he signed a record deal with Interscope and released his debut song, “Send Down the Rain”, – an instant hit. It came as a prophecy from his spiritual father, the late Primate Emmanuel Owoade Adeleke Adejobi, and seemed to coax a rain storm that ended one of the worst droughts in Nigeria’s history. After the hit track, he became a superstar and one of Africa’s greatest reggae-influenced performers following the death of legendary Bob Marley. Born in Benin City, once the centre of the ancient Bini Kingdom, Fashek inherited his love of music from his mother. She was his guardian angel, who raised him up alone following the death of his father. He was just 11 years old when his father died. As a youngster, he played the maracas during ceremonies. While he developed an early interest in Jamaican music, Majek was equally drawn to Indian music. Learning to play guitar while in secondary school, he joined a band, Jah Stix, and began playing in Lagos night clubs. He started out as a youthful, bubbly, and full of life reggae musician who thrilled crowds with just the strum of his guitar strings. But his fame and fortune fell apart when he started doing drugs. He ended up in rehab. Majek Fashek speaks with Adedayo Adejobi about his descent into drug addiction, how he finds redemption at the rehab and his rebirth, collaborations with Tuface Idibia and plans for the future… Yeah...Fame and Fortune Derailed Me
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A Minstrel’s Odyssey through Fame, Fortune and Fall ith his fame receiving global acclaim, Majekodunmi Fasheke looked set to rule the world. A sonorous voice temptingly unmistakable in the crowd, Majek Fashek, as he the world came to know him, released another solo album, ‘Prisoner of Conscience’, in 1988, selling more than 200,000 copies in Nigeria alone. This was after his incredibly debut hit, Send Down the Rain. Fashek became a household name in Nigeria and Africa. And for several years, he was the rave of the nation’s entertainment industry. His songs were creative, rational and delightful to the listening public. A few years down the line, everything changed as he succumbed to marijuana, cocaine and alcohol addiction. Looking frail, sickly, and haggard, he drew tears from those he once drew applause. A star seemed dimmed forever. But he would not admit he was into drugs. To him, he was facing spiritual battles. “I only went into seclusion for spiritual rebirth,” he said. Majek claimed he had never been on drugs all his life. He attributes his slowdown in his career and gount looks to spiritual enemies. “I never used drugs. I have home trouble. When people see your star they begin to get jealous and they want to kill it. That was what happened to me.” Following his intensive rehabilitation in the United States of America and Nigeria, after he had an encounter with schizophrenia and going through series of therapies, he has over the months proved that he is truly back on the grid as shown by his performance at recent gigs and stage performances. In his usual elements, dressed in the same oversized jacket, jeans and signature cap that have been the hallmark of his musical career over the years, Majek stepped on the stage in his typical “rumba style” walking and exuding a semblance of the aura of confidence and appeal with which were his preserves when he held sway in the 80s. A Singer and Halcyon Days of Yore One could not help but be held spellbound as Majek dished out some of his popular songs such as ‘Africa’s Unity’, ‘Majek Fashek in New York’, ‘Send Down the Rain’ and a few others that gave listeners serious goose bumps and moved some to tears. It was obvious the rain-maker has not totally lost
his charm and one couldn’t help but imagine the huge talent he still possesses having gone through drug and alcohol addiction. According to his new manager, who doubles as his caregiver while in rehabilitation at the St Nicholas Hospital Lagos, Uzoma Omenka Day, the music legend is staying clear of environments and association that can trigger any cravings. Amongst the few people who played a major role in Majek Fashek’s rehabilitation and healing after he allegedly separated from his wife and was deported from America, was a US-based musician and one-time Majek’s band-mate, Monica Omorodion Swaida. She, through a crowdfunding platform, GoFundeMe, coordinated and sought fans around the world to donate to the fundraising cause, to save the reggae icon’s life. A Journey through a Rehab… To give meaning to what he went through during his time at the rehab, Fashek said he would be going back to a track in one his old albums, I & I Experience. The title of the track is ‘A Living Dog is Better than a Dead Lion’. “To fully explain what the rehab was to me, I have a song titled, ‘A Living Dog is Better than a Dead Lion.’ It captures how I feel. I give thanks to the Most High for where I am today.” According to him, it was not just rehab, but alcohol detox as well. He said it was an opportunity to dry out. “They say recovering addicts return from rehab dry, but, somehow, after a month or a year they go back to their old habit, but I must say I have been vilified. I have heard people say all sorts of things about me, but I need people to understand that stress can make anyone do anything. It is true that I have an addiction, but I trust that I will be fine,” Majek added. The father of three said when he was growing up, he neither smoked nor drank. “When growing up, I never tasted alcohol or smoked, but you know it is actually part of the lifestyle of a performing musician. You must be high. But now, I am working on an alternative form of inspiration. And I am not the only one. In many genre of music, from reggae to rock, one needs to be high to play some rock songs.” When asked if he thinks musicians need to be under the influence of some substance to perform, the reggae star notes: “For certain genres of music, you must be high; like highlife, rock music, reggae. For a man like
Majek