Five things to know about Majek Fashek

Majekodunmi Fasheke, popularly known as Majek Fashek, has passed on.

Aged 57, he died in a hospital in New York at 5:45 pm after a prolonged illness.

Here are a few things you do not know about him.

In the early eighties Fashek, who at the time went by the stage name Rajesh Kanal, joined the group Jastix with musicians McRoy Gregg and Black Rice. The trio soon gained popularity as the in-house band on the NTA Benin show titled "Music Panorama."



He began a solo career by releasing the album "Prisoner of Conscience" and quickly became Nigeria's top reggae artist after the song "Send Down The Rain."

Fashek was married to Rita Fashek who inspired the song "Without You." They had four children together, but later divorced.

In 2015, it was revealed that Fashek was bankrupt and battling drug addiction. After admitting that he needed help, he was admitted into a drug rehabilitation centre in Abuja, but recovered and returned to music.

The reggae singer was rumoured dead in September 2019 but his manager quelled the rumours, confirming that Fashek had indeed been critically ill, hospitalized at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich in the UK.



Femi Otedola stepped up to the rescue.

He was a recipient of the City People Music's Music Legend Award and worked with various artists worldwide including Tracy Chapman, Jimmy Cliff, Michael Jackson, Snoop Dogg, and Beyoncé.