Life is a lesson that we ignore the lectures everyday.I am very sad

I rememba wen I 1st met dat man back in 2012hohotelhte at ikeja central hotel wen I went4 a show, Chai I cudnt buliv dis was the person every1 craved2see and inspired a lot, he was wasted nd ucud see it4rm his outward appearance

Dollyak:
The melancholic tone to your write up had me. My dad was a big fan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSDJTesSMWE

Saw this and felt so sad, almost wept for this man. Why can't people who do drug just learn a simple fact that this does more bad than good to them? or was it a case of spiritual attack? My God please help this man out of this dungeon, so so sad!

This is a lovely piece.

Just two days ago, i was humming one of his songs.

I am praying for Majek, the numerous people like him out there and Nigeria as a whole.

4000m:
[img]http://radiobiafra.co/images/photos/Yoruba-igbo-protest.jpg[/img]

d.umbass what has this pic gotta do with Majek?

Drinkwater:
I dnt believe this shiit Majek aint this bad, he still has a management and he still did shows late last year * #100 fork it bloody liar...

I don't doubt that part of him begging for Drink. Go to Havannah hotel in Gowon Estate and ask if Majek Fashek is not a regular person at that spot and enquire about his behaviour. You would even get more shocking descriptions. It is very sad seeing someone that was practically idolized in Nigeria back then when you were a kid living this sort of life.

Test
@Op, your article moved me so much that I was crying inwardly for a great musician and a very handsome man almost laid to waste by uncontrollable inner cravings and external forces.
I think PMAN and other relevant music bodies can send him to a Rehab centre for proper medical and psychological assistance, a good Pastor can also be arranged to minister to him.
Fashek should also be financially empowered by the above group and given a mentorship role within the group, such as leading a new talent hunting group as this could help Fashek re-discover himself. An idle hand also, is the devil's workshop.
PMAN and co should not fold their arms and watch him die and then surface to organise a multi-million burial in his honour; that will be plain cold-heartedness and indifference.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majek_Fashek

And ds guy fit no even know sey hin name dey Wikipedia oh

This man was so handsome!

Damn! WTF!!

kendiddy:
I rememba wen I 1st met dat man back in 2012hohotelhte at ikeja central hotel wen I went4 a show, Chai I cudnt buliv dis was the person every1 craved2see and inspired a lot, he was wasted nd ucud see it4rm his outward appearance

Ikeja Central Hotel behind Jolly friends hotel (ile ashawo) wetin you fain go there?

victorels:
When you Ignore the essence of religion and call it politics, you will certainly become a victim of religion. In politics, there are winners and losers but only the bad people wins. So calling religion politics is giving yourself option of winning or losing. And to win, you must be evil.

Religion is not politics @Majek

mradjoy:


Saw this and felt so sad, almost wept for this man. Why can't people who do drug just learn a simple fact that this does more bad than good to them? or was it a case of spiritual attack? My God please help this man out of this dungeon, so so sad!

Religion is politics because they are both the same in the aim of their leaders to DECEIVE the people they lead into subservience.

Indeed despite Majek's song about religion being politics he was WRECKED mainly because he submitted himself to his base/traditional religious belief claiming, at the onset, that his drug addiction problems were caused by witchcraft rather than seek scientific/psychological/medical attention, which may be EXPENSIVE but effective on the long term with some discipline and understanding of the root cause of his problem.

Most of us wrongly think that religion is limited to the imported religions from the Middle East- Christianity & Islam- while ignoring the more potent belief system of our tradition/ancestors.
In short any set of beliefs that limits one from exploring and developing RATIONAL thoughts and analysis of everything is a sort of religion.

Too much belief in religion that makes one think some random messiah will know all & do all on one's behalf makes an individual/society BACKWARD. The Europeans were similarly backward under influence of religion until the Renaissance period when printing was developed and they started reading the Bible themselves instead of waiting for some priest to interpret for them.

The ongoing crisis in the Muslim world is not very different as communication opens up people's eyes and they start questioning things.

Hmmmm, na wa. .. I rem wen I saw him on d island last yr or so...He actually looked lik a shadow of him self... Mehn let dat man stop killing himself slowly nw

MojiDelano:

Majek in his destitution represents Nigeria. Blessed with more than enough resources., rich in human capacity, more fertile land than the whole of Asia and filled with gifted and talented people, but yet beggerly and poor. Daily our leaders go to 'jibowu' to beg poorer countries for aid, for debt forgiveness. The contradiction never leaves me. Japan with no known Natural resources is so developed that we can only look in shame.

Thanks for such a beautiful piece.
The excerpt above is very instructive for those who have ears to listen and a mind to reflect.

Salam!
Shalom!!
Peace!!!

Nickymezor:
Hmmmm, na wa. .. I rem wen I saw him on d island last yr or so...He actually looked lik a shadow of him self... Mehn let dat man stop killing himself slowly nw

What can be done to assist him? He is a national icon. The Nation should not allow him to be wasted. Please let us see how to assist him get restored.

I saw him at my Church MFM HQ at yaba some months back. I was stunned, he really was looking bad and unkept, and was quarrelling with the almost everyone including the church ushers. The scene just could not leave me all through that day. How did Majek get to be bad - most likely drugs. Sad how the story of this once extremely talented man seems to be going.

This writer is educated, thank God for your life bro...keep the good work. God bless.

anonimi:







Religion is politics because they are both the same in the aim of their leaders to DECEIVE the people they lead into subservience.

Indeed despite Majek's song about religion being politics he was WRECKED mainly because he submitted himself to his base/traditional religious belief claiming, at the onset, that his drug addiction problems were caused by witchcraft rather than seek scientific/psychological/medical attention, which may be EXPENSIVE but effective on the long term with some discipline and understanding of the root cause of his problem.

Most of us wrongly think that religion is limited to the imported religions from the Middle East- Christianity & Islam- while ignoring the more potent belief system of our tradition/ancestors.
In short any set of beliefs that limits one from exploring and developing RATIONAL thoughts and analysis of everything is a sort of religion.

Too much belief in religion that makes one think some random messiah will know all & do all on one's behalf makes an individual/society BACKWARD. The Europeans were similarly backward under influence of religion until the Renaissance period when printing was developed and they started reading the Bible themselves instead of waiting for some priest to interpret for them.

The ongoing crisis in the Muslim world is not very different as communication opens up people's eyes and they start questioning things.

That is easy to say considering the tend of religion.
But the essence of religion is what people is what people need to know and follow. It is just Doing the right thing with love and fleeing from the wrong.

Religion has been basterdised such that cults are considered as religion. This is the reason many people judge religion as politics.

If Majek had loved himself enough and loved others, his he would have realised that anything done in secrete is evil. People destroys themselves by their mistakes and blame it on God.

Sad

This man was once filled with the spirit of God, but who made him fall?

Majek Fashek - Things Mystical, The Interview
Interview by AfricaSounds.com



The following feature is the most in-depth interview with Majek Fashek that has been published. Majek Fashek is one of Reggae and Nigeria’s most unique and important artists. We were with Majek at some of his first shows in the US, and we’ve been at some of his more recent concerts. He’s had fans come and go, but there is a circle of us who have always been there. We’ve stuck it out with Majek though the thick and the thin, times good and bad. The road has not been straight… indeed it has meandered, and it has, the truth be told, been a bit rocky. Yet Majek is still singing and still believing. We often find ourselves fascinated by Majek perception of the world around him. He sees things in a unique light. Here is a man who has convictions and strong beliefs.
We prefer to think of it the following way. On some days, the stars align themselves, and things click. We’ve seen this happen with Majek both onstage and off. We’ve seen some of the best moments in live music come from Majek. The best are the moments we like to hold on to, the moments that burn into our memories.

The interview took place in Washington Square Park, New York. The vibe was just right. In our hands, we held the latest demo of yet unreleased songs for Majek's upcoming album. We decided to begin our discussion by focusing on each of the five songs on that demo, one by one. With Majek, you’ve got to know why he wrote the song, and what he was getting at. Sometimes, you have to push, dig deeper, to get the real meaning.

That day we found ourselves digging deep for the meaning of Majek's songs, philosophy and his view of the world around him. Read on...


Majek Fashek sitting on the earth of Washington Square Park, New York - Photo by AfricaSounds




Majek Fasek - Recent Performance at SOBs Nightclub, New York - Photo by Bill Farrington



AfricaSounds: Hey Majek, thanks for spending time with us today. Let’s talk about this demo here, its brand new and it isn’t yet released. We’d like to give our readers a preview of what is to come from you.
Majek Fashek: I am working with some musicians over in California, my promotion company hooked them up with me, and we did some work. We arranged the music to get the right musicians for the right sound.

AfricaSounds: Let’s start with the first song, "Job Lamentation". Tell us about it…

Majek Fashek: I’m talking about Job, I dedicated that song to my late brother who was a Biafra soldier – you know he believed in God and things happened. At the same time, I start to realize life in its redefinition. Referring to the song lyrics "We are not fighting against flesh and blood, but spiritual wickedness in high and low places." So what I am trying to say is that Job was the son of God in the Bible. Job heard everything. Man, he was tempted by the devil to give up Jah will…Job tried, you know…

Just like what has happened to me in my career – because before I had a very big contract with Interscope Records, you know what I am saying… things happen and I was on some spiritual experience. Things like that – losing all the bucks, just like that… but still surviving!

Surviving and reflecting on the survival of man, and the message. So reflection of that has already passed us by. I don’t really think about it no more… that is why we are back on our new project. I had my last project that I did with Tuff Gong records (that produced the album "Rainmaker" but this new project is different, we are trying to handle this project ourselves. Because the American music industry is going nuclear…. Nuclear in the sense that you have independent labels now.





AfricaSounds: On these past projects, did you maintain control of the entire production?
Majek Fashek: No, it was controlled by the recoding industry. They would give me some leverage to produce music – I produced with Little Steve the album "Spirit of Love" with Interscope… but you know right now were are not talking about that type of money…

AfricaSounds: That could be said about the state of the recording industry in general. Things keep changing, there’s not much consistency with labels and people working within those labels, don’t you think?

Majek Fashek: Well, you can try to do better for yourself but you still need a house… you know, you can’t be sleeping on the street. There is a chain of command, like you know. I was in the house after Interscope with Tuff Gong Records, but now Tuff Gong has moved from New York, and its kind of affected the whole deal that we had. Like you were saying, every year there seems to be a change with these companies.

AfricaSounds: That’s part of what is hurting the efforts of so many musicians that we see, because a musician can work very hard to set up a relationship with a recording house and then the house is gone, or gobbled up, or the management changes.


Majek Fashek: So it is tough. But the life of a musician is good in the United States; the U.S. doesn’t give us any problems. Being in New York is good for a musician, as long as you don’t have your own problems and can stay focused. America is the best place to stay as a musician, I would never disregard that. You have more venues, you have promoters, you have agencies… it’s just for you to know how to hook up with these people, that is the challenge. To get the right contacts and hook up with the right people.
AfricaSounds: Were you able to say what you wanted to when you recorded and sang in Nigeria?

Majek Fashek: Yes. There was some oppression at one time, but the Nigerian government knew that I did not have bad intentions. I was not too intense like Fela Kuti, so I was able to get by with it. There was a little tension from time to time, like when I talked about the government… the military government… I talked about police brutality in Nigeria… so they didn’t really like that.




AfricaSounds: We notice on this demo that the second song is a Fela composition, actually one of our favorites, "Water No Get Enemy". Tell us about your choice to sing this song.
Majek Fashek: That is Fela music. I picked it because I have real passion for that song… It’s talking about water. The water you drink, that’s the same water, according to Fela, you use to wash a child. And when the child dies, you use the water to wash the child. And if you want to cook some food, you need water to cook it, you know what I am saying. Which means: Water, you cannot fight water. And that’s the power that has been given to me by the almighty God. People that try to fight me is like fighting water. Yeh, it’s like rain. But water is much protected, because water is a Deity of life, the liberty of man. And I am a water man because I am an Aquarius. A Pieces and an Aquarian so I am a very dangerous sign as it is our age, as we are controlling the universe now, being that it’s our age. Whether people like it our not. Sagittarians, they will have their own time. But we are in the Age of Aquarius, the gospel of our Lord and Savior of Jesus Christ.

AfricaSounds: Well that is very interesting! I am an Aquarius as well.

Majek Fashek: You are Aquarius too! That’s dangerous! Very interesting [Majek snaps his fingers] He’s a Cancerian [motioning to a friend]… Cancerians work very well with Aquarius. Cancerians can tolerate a crazy man! Aquarians and Sagittarians work well together. My drummer was a Sagittarian… in my first group, Jah Sticks in Nigeria… they called him Black Rice. He’s in Holland now, married to a girl over there. The group Jah Sticks, we recorded songs but they didn’t release the record. Well, that was a very long time ago, I played guitar and sang for them. Black Rice, that’s his name, Black Rice.

AfricaSounds: Majek, let’s talk about the third song on this demo, called "Man of Sorrow."

Majek Fashek: "Man of Sorrow," that’s my own composition. I am talking about one’s relationship with their child – my mother used to say "don’t tell a child what he will be tomorrow" – it’s like, you see that little kid [Majek motions across the park to a child strolling with his father in Washington Square Park]. You know, that could have been George Bush once, you see, you never know. So that’s the vision of man of sorrow. Sometimes you might get worries in life and it appears that everything is over, but if you believe in God, that he’s the creator, you never know what you might become… perhaps a Senator tomorrow – you – you can even become Chief of Staff! What I am saying is: What will be, will be, if Jah says so.

What we are talking about is the destiny of man. When we were young, little kids in Africa, we always dreamed about America, dreamed about wanting to come to America. You know, and here we are, right now, in America. So what will be, will be, if Jah says so. So it might take some time…there have been rumors about me, rumors such as drugs, but the problems that I went though was a phase of spiritualism. I encountered a lot of spirits in my life, but through the mercy of God, that’s why I’ve met you, and met others who have helped me along the way, like my lawyer, and together we were able to make things work. My old time friends.

We are taking our time to put everything in our right perspective; it will take time with our musical project. So man of sorrow is about the future of every human, don’t tell a child what he will be tomorrow. He might just become a president. That doesn’t stop him from attaining or achieving his destiny. You have to train your child, put him in school. The normal school of life, give the child a good education because the child must know how to relate to human beings. But from there, once the child is growing, he has to decide what to do with his own life.

source: http://www.africasounds.com/majek_fashek_2002.htm

LAfricana:
chai.... no i dont want to believe thats majek...

Better believe. That's him for sure.

Mehnnnn....its so unfortunate for him o. I like Majekodunmi no b small. May God help him.

Where is PMAN? Are they not supposed to help him. When he dies now,they'll start making announcements

victorels:
When you Ignore the essence of religion and call it politics, you will certainly become a victim of religion. In politics, there are winners and losers but only the bad people wins. So calling religion politics is giving yourself option of winning or losing. And to win, you must be evil.

Religion is not politics @Majek

so he's in this predicament because he sang religion na politics? Really? what a myopic and oversimplifying way of seeing it. How come countries less religious than Nigeria are better off?

u have a gift of writing sir and a reflective mind which most Nigerians lack. u are well carried

Good write-up. I had similar experience with him too at a club in New Oko Oba Agege, where he came to perform. Tears nearly came out of my eyes when i saw this God endowed. We can only pray for him. Nothing is impossible and its never too late with God.

no2fuks:

your post shows that you are ignorant. first of all marijuana aka Indian hemp is not a "drug" and most of the ppl you mentioned like 50 cent and pharrell williams dont even smoke weed
stop talking about what you dont know

shut up. They all fall into the category of hard drugs. Stop getting cynical with me

Exactly

edogho:

Ur list ain't complete...

U 4got to mention my one and only Brown Chris.

D best way to handle drugs is not even taking it at all... speaking from hard experience, it'll punish u like a serpent's venom when u try to leave it..

#teamweedntramadol

Just sad.

no2fuks:

your post shows that you are ignorant. first of all marijuana aka Indian hemp is not a "drug" and most of the ppl you mentioned like 50 cent and pharrell williams dont even smoke weed
stop talking about what you dont know

shut the fk up. What's the difference between Fanta and mirinda or coke and Pepsi. Carry your I too know for another bustop

Really pathetic. But doesn't he have children?