Entertainment
Majek Fashek (1963-2020): The Triumphs, the Storm, the Travails
By Eric Elezuo
Could you believe that even age mates of late Majek Fashek believed he was 71 years, and was born in 1949. They claimed that was what the official record said…such naivety. One day, someone would tell them something different from their names, and they will believe because one supposedly ‘impeccable’ source has erroneously written it. I still wonder what we do with our brains, even with claims that we have been to school. Well, that is a story for another day!
He was only 25 years in 1988 when his glory filled not only the airwaves but the nook and crannies of the Nigerian music and entertainment circle. It didn’t stop there, Majekodunmi Fasheke, known as Majek Fashek for short, took his epic arrival into stardom more than a niche further, covering the world with his own form of ‘Righteousness’. He dished out hits after hits, making him the epicentre of Reggae music in Nigeria, competing favourably with the likes of Alpha Blonde and Lucky Dube in the Africa continent, and world icons like Robert Nester Marley, Peter Tosh, Gregory Isaac and many more. New York Daily News hailed him as the spiritual heir to Bob Marley.
Majek Fashek occupied the late 80s and early 90s like a colossus, as his hit album, Prisoner of Conscience with the track ‘Send Down the Rain’, became a national anthem of some sort. Every child could sing the song; it was on the lips of every adult. And of course, it was interwoven with childlike chorus which heralds the arrival of mothers after a long absence. It was made for all ages; a product of long term planing. More so, its prophetic orientation and spiritual undertone made it a toast for all season.
In a 2013, when Fashek’s former bandmate and cousin, Amos McRoy, granted an interview with now defunct Entertainment Express Newspaper, he claimed that the singer told him the song ‘Send Down The Rain’ had a spiritual force behind it.
“That was one of the things he told me in Cote d’Ivoire. Based on what he told me, I think he ‘crossed the line’ before he released the album,” McRoy said in that interview.
“In Cote d’Ivoire, I asked him certain questions. His reply was: ‘Amos, are you that naive? I released Send Down The Rain, everywhere that song was played, rain must fall. Even in summer while we were on US tour, I played Send Down The Rain and rain fell. I released Free Mandela and that month Mandela was released. I did fire (Majek Beware) the week that record was released was the week the Rodney King incident happened. That song, Fire o! Fire o! was played for almost two months in all the TV and radio stations in Los Angeles during that Rodney King episode. So, are you that naive? Don’t you reason?
He practically started a musical revolution in 1988, and by 1989, he carted away six awards at the PMAN Awards including two of the most important nominations; the prestigious Album of the Year and Song of the Year categories. His Send Down the Rain competed in the category of millennial hits such as Nico Mbago’s Sweet Mother and Onyeka Onwenu’s One Love in not only national, but international appeals.
One thing is obvious, no Nigerian song has been so mythologized as ‘Send Down the Rain’ and by extension, Holy Spirit. He composed every song personally, and gave Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’ a touch of excellence when he remixed it. No one can deny that Fashek was a legend. A typical example of one who came during his time, saw and conquered. Many believed he had room for more conquest if not for the self-destructive mode he put himself. Reports had it that he dabbled into spiritism, not drug use, and ruined a God-given career.
This as much was confirmed by McRoy thus:
“Truth is Majek’s problem is spiritual. Majek strayed into spiritism.
“Majek’s problem is not drug-related. He took to alcoholism to get over his real problem. Failing to keep the rules of whatever he delved into, he started to hallucinate. He started seeing things. For instance, if he was in a room, he would tell you ‘open the door, open the window’. If you tell him the air condition is on, he would say “Can’t you see them spirits; you want to trap the spirits. Men, let the spirits move around.”
In the peak of his career in 1991, Fashek visited New York for the first time, and that was when he released the track ‘Mashek Fashek Inna New York’. The excited attached to the song would reveal his clear human nature, as he x-rayed life in the city that never sleeps in comparison to what is obtainable in other cities of the world. He was practically surprised to see that there were homeless people, beggars and destitute in New York.
Quincy Jones, the multi-talented music titan whose vast legacy ranged from producing Michael Jackson’s historic “Thriller” album to writing prize-winning film and television scores and collaborating with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other recording artists, has died at 91.
Jones’ publicist, Arnold Robinson, says he died Sunday night at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles, surrounded by his family.
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” the family said in a statement. “And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.”
Jones rose from running with gangs on the South Side of Chicago to the very heights of show business, becoming one of the first Black executives to thrive in Hollywood and amassing an extraordinary musical catalog that includes some of the richest moments of American rhythm and song. For years, it was unlikely to find a music lover who did not own at least one record with his name on it, or a leader in the entertainment industry and beyond who did not have some connection to him.
Jones kept company with presidents and foreign leaders, movie stars and musicians, philanthropists and business leaders. He toured with Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, arranged records for Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, composed the soundtracks for “Roots” and “In the Heat of the Night,” organized President Bill Clinton’s first inaugural celebration and oversaw the all-star recording of “We Are the World,” the 1985 charity record for famine relief in Africa.
Lionel Richie, who co-wrote “We Are the World” and was among the featured singers, would call Jones “the master orchestrator.”
In a career which began when records were still played on vinyl at 78 rpm, top honors likely go to his productions with Jackson: “Off the Wall,” “Thriller” and “Bad” were albums near-universal in their style and appeal. Jones’ versatility and imagination helped set off the explosive talents of Jackson as he transformed from child star to the “King of Pop.” On such classic tracks as “Billie Jean” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” Jones and Jackson fashioned a global soundscape out of disco, funk, rock, pop, R&B and jazz and African chants. For “Thriller,” some of the most memorable touches originated with Jones, who recruited Eddie Van Halen for a guitar solo on the genre-fusing “Beat It” and brought in Vincent Price for a ghoulish voiceover on the title track.
“Thriller” sold more than 20 million copies in 1983 alone and has contended with the Eagles’ “Greatest Hits 1971-1975” among others as the best-selling album of all time.
“If an album doesn’t do well, everyone says ‘it was the producers fault’; so if it does well, it should be your ‘fault,’ too,” Jones said in an interview with the Library of Congress in 2016. “The tracks don’t just all of a sudden appear. The producer has to have the skill, experience and ability to guide the vision to completion.”
The list of his honors and awards fills 18 pages in his 2001 autobiography “Q”, including 27 Grammys at the time (now 28), an honorary Academy Award (now two) and an Emmy for “Roots.” He also received France’s Legion d’Honneur, the Rudolph Valentino Award from the Republic of Italy and a Kennedy Center tribute for his contributions to American culture. He was the subject of a 1990 documentary, “Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones” and a 2018 film by daughter Rashida Jones. His memoir made him a best-selling author.
Born in Chicago in 1933, Jones would cite the hymns his mother sang around the house as the first music he could remember. But he looked back sadly on his childhood, once telling Oprah Winfrey that “There are two kinds of people: those who have nurturing parents or caretakers, and those who don’t. Nothing’s in between.” Jones’ mother suffered from emotional problems and was eventually institutionalized, a loss that made the world seem “senseless” for Quincy. He spent much of his time in Chicago on the streets, with gangs, stealing and fighting.
“They nailed my hand to a fence with a switchblade, man,” he told the AP in 2018, showing a scar from his childhood.
Music saved him. As a boy, he learned that a Chicago neighbor owned a piano and he soon played it constantly himself. His father moved to Washington state when Quincy was 10 and his world changed at a neighborhood recreation center. Jones and some friends had broken into the kitchen and helped themselves to lemon meringue pie when Jones noticed a small room nearby with a stage. On the stage was a piano.
“I went up there, paused, stared, and then tinkled on it for a moment,” he wrote in his autobiography. “That’s where I began to find peace. I was 11. I knew this was it for me. Forever.”
Source: APnews
Digital solutions provider, Globacom, has announced an entertainment tour for its youth-centric product, My-G. The show will be hosted across major cities in Nigeria.
Globacom disclosed at a press briefing on Thursday that the youth-focused entertainment tour is geared towards highlighting the huge benefits of My-G, a product which addresses the entertainment and connectivity needs of young Nigerians.
Globacom’s Director of Creativity, Mr. Chuka Obi, explained that My-G offers unique data bundles which enable customers to access their favourite entertainment sites, social media platforms, and streaming services at affordable rates.
According to him, “With My-G, Glo customers are able to enjoy WhatsApp, TikTok, Snapchat, BoomPlay, Audiomack, Instagram and GloTV without sweating on data cost”.
He added further that, “My-G package is awesome, and customers are assured of getting the best data deals to spend more time on entertainment sites that they love to surf. That necessarily means they won’t get their pockets emptied just because they want to have fun”.
Obi also added that the experiential engagements in these cities will be garnished with undiluted entertainment, while “the pass to enjoy this, will surely be their uptake of My-G data bundles”.
Youth leaders who graced the unveiling of the entertainment tour gave thumbs up to the initiative from Globacom saying that “it would create a great opportunity for young people to engage with the brand that has remained focused at connecting young people to their passions and empowering them at affordable costs”.
President, Students Union Government (SUG), Yaba College of Technology, Morakinyo Olaolu, noted that, “This is a good initiative for youth development. We thank Glo for My-G which is for us the Youth.”.
In the same vein, Adebobola Ayomide, SUG President, Lagos State University, opined that “My-G will help the youth to stay more active online. It will be useful to us in both academic and social activities. We are happy with the plan and we also call on Glo to provide other packages that will help improve student lives on campus. We appreciate the company at all times”.
Adekanye Ibukunoluwa,who represented the University of Lagos SUG, said, “Thanks to Glo for putting the Youth into consideration. Online is where we do most of our academic work and My-G will help us greatly with affordable data. We hope Glo will start bringing more activities to the campus so that the students can benefit from them from time to time”.
Globacom also seized the opportunity to reintroduce its competitive tariff plan, Berekete, which has now been reloaded as Berekete 10X, and offers more benefits including ten times the value of every recharge, double data value, and amazing benefits on voice calls.
The company also highlighted the benefits of Glo Café app, a one-stop shop for all digital services and other Glo products and services. Glo Café is available for download on the Google App Store where customers can get 100 GB Bonus Data which includes instant 75GB and 5GB data installments for the next 5 months.
In addition to these, an app exclusive recharge offer of 100 per cent and app exclusive data bonus of 10 per cent are also available on Glo Café. Similarly, the app offers an in-App exclusive digital data bundles on special data.
Glo Café was launched to offer users self-services like Data Purchase, Data Gifting & Sharing with utmost ease. The app also addresses self-care needs like balance checks, Recharge, Borrow, Credit/Data, PUK code, NIN number details.
Social Media activist, Martins Ortse also known as VeryDarkMan, on Monday alleged that popular crossdresser, Idris Okuneye aka Bobrisky has been arrested by security authorities.
VeryDarkMan alleged that Bobrisky was arrested at the Seme border while attempting to escape to Benin Republic to evade the House of Representatives investigative hearing.
In a video on his Instagram page, VDM as he is referred to said: “Bobrisky has been arrested this morning at Seme border while trying to enter BENIN REPUBLIC to escape the current investigation by the house of reps, he is allegedly being held by the Nigeria immigration.”
Recently, VDM released an audio recording of Bobrisky claiming to have allegedly bribed EFCC officials with the sum of N15 million.
During his conversation, Bobrisky also claimed not to have spent his six-month jail term in Kirikiri prison due to the influence of his godfather.
The revelation led to an investigative hearing by the House of Representatives but Bobrisky failed to appear before the committee, claiming to be sick.
Source: The Post
