Majek Fashek: 10 facts you need to know about the ‘Rainmaker’ who put Nigeria on the world map of reggae music

Nigeria’s, unarguably, biggest reggae music export, Majekodunmi Fasheke aka Majek Fashek, departed the world on Monday June 1, 2020 after a decade long battle with an undisclosed illness.

His death was announced by his manager, Omenka Uzoma, on Tuesday June 2, 2020, but he did not reveal the cause.

Many young Nigerians in their early 20s and teenagers who don’t know much about the exploits and greatness of the ‘Rainmaker’ may be wondering why there is so much buzz in the media over his death. We cannot blame them, the controversies that trailed Majek’s latter years dwarfed his many accomplishments as one of the greatest Nigerian and African reggae musicians.

Here are 10 facts you need to know about the reggae musician who secured a seat for Nigeria among nations with great reggae music

1. He started his music career as a chorister in an Aladura church in Benin, Edo State before becoming a member of Benin-based reggae group Jastix in the early 1980s. Other members of the group included Ras Kimono and Amos McRoy Gregg. The group became famous as the in-house band on ‘Music Panorama’ a show on NTA Benin.

2. He released his debut album ‘Prisoner of Conscience’ in 1988 after the dissolution of Jastix.

3. According to Amazon, the album, ‘Prisoner of Conscience’ sold more than 200,000 copies in Nigeria alone. It is believed to be his most successful album

4. His most popular song ‘Send Down The Rain’ from his debut album ‘Prisoner of Conscience’ won six PMAN music awards in 1989. There is also a popular sentiment that the song coaxed a rain storm that ended the Sahel droughts of 1980s in Nigeria, one of the worst droughts in the nation’s history.

5. In 1992, Majek Fashek became the first Nigerian singer to appear on the David Letterman Show (the biggest show on American CBS channel at that time), where he performed ‘So Long, Too Long’ live.

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6. From 1988 up till his death, he had four studio albums released under four different record labels – Tabansi Records, CBS Nigeria, Interscope Records, and Mango Records. He released several other singles.

7. He was married to his childhood lover Rita and they had four children together. The marriage of more than 30 years crashed in 2015 due to what Rita described as his alcoholism and drug addiction. After his divorce, he never remarried.

8. Although his father, Olatunji Fasheke, was believed to be from Ilesha in Osun State, Majek claimed his mom’s Benin roots in Edo State.

9. In 2017, two years after his return from a rehabilitation centre, Majek released a song ‘Akugbe’ (unity) in Bini language to pay tribute to the new Oba of Benin who was crowned in October 2016.

10. Majek enjoyed a close relationship with the Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and frequently performed at the shrine before Fela’s death. “He’ (Fela) is like my big brother,” Majek had said.