Majek Fashek
b. Majekodunmi Fasheke, Nigeria. Alongside Lucky Dube, Majek Fashek (as he is popularly known) is Africa's prime reggae export. Just like Dube, however, Fashek likes nothing more than to synthesize a multitude of ethnic musics. Indeed, he began his career recording Indian film soundtracks. He first started playing guitar at the age of six, forming a secondary school band in Benin entitled Jah Stix. After dates on the Lagos club circuit, Fashek elected to pursue a solo career. He was instantly successful, his first reggae album, PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE, selling a quarter of a million copies, and providing two similarly popular singles. Though the debut revealed too obvious a debt to Bob Marley, subsequent releases have seen him indulge in boundless experimentation, with chants, ritualistic drums and imploring vocals reminiscent of the Count Ossie/ Ras Michael school of Rasta music.