Biography of Majek Fashek

Nigerian Majekodunmi Fasheke, otherwise known as Majek Fashek, is (along with South Africa's Lucky Dube) Africa's prime proponent of reggae. But while Dube keeps the music close to its Jamaican source, Fashek lights a polyrhythmic fire under the familiar reggae beat, with ferocious talking drum volleys and multilayered percussion. Though influenced by Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley, Fashek's initial love (and the music he first sang) was Indian film music. He began playing guitar while in secondary school in Benin, forming a band called Jah Stix, which made the club circuit in Lagos. In 1988, he struck out on his own. The African release of his first reggae album, Prisoner of Conscience, sold 200,000 copies and spawned two singles that rode high on the Nigerian charts for over a year. ~ Bob Tarte