Majek Fashek: The making of a star

Musiliu Peregrino Brimah can be described as one of the mentors of Majek Fashek. He is also JK Brimah’s cousin. Musiliu is a creative person par excellence, with a rich background in art and music that has shaped his immense and somewhat ‘underground’ contributions to the development and strengthening of both the art and music scenes in Nigeria. Born in Accra, Ghana, of Nigerian parents, he grew up and attended school in Ghana with intermittent visits to Nigeria. He remembers the excitement of watching Ogunde’s Travelling Theatre and listening to Victor Olaiya on their visits to Accra and growing up in an environment immersed in the contemporary cultures of both countries.

He attended the prestigious Chicago Art Institute, which produced Walt Disney and other great artists. There, he studied Graphics and Commercial Design and graduated in 1974. He then had a stint working with the famous African-American Johnson publishing company, producers of Ebony, Jet, and Negro Digest magazines. Thereafter, he worked with the Black Muslims’ weekly, Bilalian News, as a designer and Mohammed Ali’s then-wife, Khalian, as the professional photographer, all in Chicago.

His life in Chicago, apart from his studies, revolved around the music and entertainment scenes. He became a center of attraction for Nigerians and African-Americans because of his vast collection of records, particularly in the then-new genres of Reggae and Afrobeat.

His first cousin, J.K. Brimah, a long-time friend and musical guide to Fela Anikulapo, used to send him new recordings by Fela. Eventually he met Fela at one of his concerts in America. “Fela was a humble man and a shy man, a fact many people don’t know,” he recalls.

Working with Fela

When Musiliu Peregrino Brimah came back to settle in Lagos, he went to listen to Fela perform at Cross Roads Hotel (after the Kalakuta Republic had been burnt down). His cousin formally introduced him to Fela as someone who could design album covers. Fela then gave him a tape of his new recording ‘Suffering and Smiling’, and asked him to listen to it and design a cover for it.

“I was laughing all the time I was listening to the music because the lyrics were so true about social conditions, yet they were ironically funny,” Brimah remembers, adding that he “decided to incorporate some Ancient Egyptian motifs into the design.

“Fela liked the design I did for ‘Suffering and Smiling’,” he continues “and he paid me one thousand naira, which I later converted into two thousand American dollars. Fela’s drummer then, Tony Allen, also liked the design and asked me to design the album cover for his new recording ‘No Accommodation’, which I did.”

Brimah then worked with Ken Saro Wiwa, doing inside illustrations and cover designs for

many of his books, including ‘On a Darkling Plaine’, Saro Wiwa’s major book on the Civil War.

Enter Majek Fashek

With an ear for good music and a deep passion for identifying and nurturing young musical talent, Musiliu Peregrino Brimah then set about developing up-coming Nigerian musicians; many of whom have become international stars. His biggest success is Majek Fashek, and the hitherto unknown story is best told by Brimah himself.

“I met Majek at Tabansi Records as I was designing album covers for them in the early 80s. Majek saw my portfolio of artworks and I gave him a ride to Surulere to his manager, Lemmy Jackson’s office. Lemmy wasn’t in, and Majek asked if he could come to my house. First thing I told him was to remove his shoes before he came into the house. This was very strange to him and he said that in Benin, where he comes from, you only remove your shoes to enter a holy place or shrine.

“I told him its part of my Muslim tradition, as I pray on my carpet and I don’t want people to come in with dirt on their shoes. He told me he was a musician, but people didn’t believe in him and that he had a band called Jahstick. He saw my record collection of over 1000 records I had brought back from America and he started coming to my place regularly to listen to music and listen to me because he knew I knew about music.

“I advised him to add rock music to his reggae to get recognition abroad and that once the young white audience accepted him, he would make it internationally. So, we became friends. I advised him to sign with Tabansi Records and they went to Onitsha to record. He came and played the recording to me, which had ‘Righteous People’ and ‘Send Down the Rain’. I told him ‘Send Down the Rain’ reminded me of Bob Marley and that it was amazing a Nigerian could do that kind of music. I told him he had to go and mix it abroad because it was a great sound. He told me he had no money and I told him I would talk to Chief Tabansi who was a nice man. I told Tabansi that it was great music and I had a friend in Addis Ababa who had a studio where Aswad and the black musicians in London hung out.

“Tabansi believed in me and asked me to write to my friend, Tony Addis, to invite Majek to London. Tony did, Majek was given a visa, and he went to London to mix his recording. Gboyega Adelaja, my friend and musician of Hugh Masekela fame, actually met Majek on his way to the studio and gave him some money. They mixed at Addis Ababa and Majek came back and played the new sound to me in my house. I was very happy!

“Majek always told me he wanted to be a prisoner of his belief. We chose ‘Send Down the Rain’ and ‘Redemption Song’ as the hit tracks of the album. I told him he was going to be a great man. He was always anxious, and I told him that God would make him suffer first. Majek was righteous then. He didn’t smoke, didn’t drink.

“He said he wanted to have a handcuff. I took him to the police station and the DPO believed in me. He gave me some policemen who followed Majek and I and the handcuffs to the studio on Ogunlana Drive where the owner, a German lady, Gisela, took the photograph of Majek in handcuffs. The policemen were laughing, and I told them Majek was going to be a great man. Majek was humble. So, I designed the album called ‘Prisoner of Conscience’ with Majek in handcuffs on the sleeve. Majek used to tell me that Fela liked him.

“The launching of the album was in Surulere and the venue was full of journalists. It was outdoors. When they started playing ‘Send Down the Rain’ the sky suddenly started changing and it started raining. I was sitting with Majek and I told him that that was the sign that it was going to be a big hit. The video of ‘Send Down the Rain’ was shot by Philip Trimmnel and my young son and daughter were in the video.

“When the record became a big hit, Majek told me that every time I talked to him, he was afraid. I told him he had to get close to God and I also told him he had to go abroad and become a big star!”