Contrary to the widely believed notion that Majek Fashek hit rock bottom due to heavy drug use, his cousin and former band mate McRoy says the late music icon's predicaments were caused by 'spiritism'.

Only a few persons knew the late music icon Majek Fashek far better than his cousin and also former band friend Amos McRoy, last name Osifo, now pastor of Seed of Abraham International Christian Centre.

As cousins, McRoy and also Majek began their music career together and also belonged to the group called Jastix with Black Rice who was the lead singer.

One of the main gigs of the band was to play at music show 'Music Panorama' which broadcast on NTA Benin. Jastix additionally toured with The Mandators during this period.

When the Jastix disbanded, McRoy and Majek focused on their solo career and also continued to be really close.

In a 2013 interview by Musa Jibril for the defunct Home entertainment Express paper, McRoy gave an in-depth revelation of the mystical fall of Majek who back then had currently hit rock bottom.

SPIRITISM

"prisoner of success was released to instant success. Success doesn't alter a person. It draws out the real you. Till tomorrow, Majek is still the very same person in regards to humility, in terms of carriage and the rest of it. His problem: he paid attention to wrong advice. That is where is problem began.

"Lots of people think Majek's problem is drug-related. Truth is Majek's problem is spiritual. Majek wandered off into spiritism. Once, while on stage, Majek stated, 'Oh, Fela is my boy. Bob Marley is my boy'.

"He made that statement throughout a Rothmans show at Tafawa Balewa Square and also Dede Mabiaku, Fela's protégé, went berserk. It took the intervention of Eddie Lawani to relax him. Dede didn't quite understand what Majek was talking about. He was taking it from the physical sense, whereas Majek was speaking spiritual.

"Majek entered into spiritism at a warp speed-- like jumping from kindergarten straight to the university. Without a linking bridge. He was not appropriately schooled. So he could not keep the rules.

"Majek totally 'crossed the line ' after the launch of Prisoner of Conscience. Those days, we were sharing the same duplex at Anthony Town. I would certainly see the Guru Maharaji people paying visit to him. The exact same Master Maharaji we all know, just starting out at the time. The Hare Krishna people additionally came. I assumed 'oh, this guy is popular, that's why they are coming to him for one favour or the other'. I really did not recognize that it was much deeper than that.

SUCCESS OF SEND DOWN THE RAIN.

"Majek released his CD in April 1988. I released my own a year after. We were under the same management. We rehearsed at the same place, making use of the same band as back up. Someday, we were coming from rehearsal; he was driving his Peugeot 505 cars. One of our backup singer, Monica Omorodion (now living in US), stated 'Bros Amos, why is your record not making waves like Majek's, or The Mandators, or Kimono? 'Majek looked at me in the rear mirror and said, ' Do not mind Amos. He does not wish to ask me the way I passed to come to be a star. He assumes it is excellent record that makes someone a star'. When he made that statement, I gave him a knock from behind. 'My friend stop talking there! What are you doing that I am running from doing? 'I said. He switched to Benin language. ' This is not the Majek you grew up with', he said. Still I did not understand.

"It took me 10 years to link the dots. Not till we went to Cote d'Ivoire in 1998 that Majek informed me certain things, that I became aware, in knowledge that 'Okay, that is what my bro was discussing back then'.

"The song 'Send Down The Rain ' had a spiritual force behind it. That was one of the things he informed me in Cote d'Ivoire. Based upon what he informed me, I think he 'crossed the line 'before he launched the CD.

"In Cote d'Ivoire, I asked him certain questions. His reply was: 'Amos, are you that naive? I launched Send Down The Rainfall, anywhere that song was played, rain must fall. Even in summer season while we were on United States trip, I played Send Down the Rainfall and rain dropped. I launched Free Mandela and that month Mandela was released. I did fire (Majek Be cautious) the week that record was released was the week the Rodney King incident took place. That song, Fire o! Fire o! was played almost two months in all the TELEVISION and also radio stations in Los Angeles during that Rodney King episode. So, are you that ignorant? Don't you reason?

"He began mentioning spiritual books. Then he told me: 'You do not understand, I have actually got to the degree of de Lawrence '. That was when I understood which perspective he was speaking, when he claimed Fela and also Bob Marley are his boys".

"While we were growing up in the church, we were competing spiritually by fasting. There were 3 of us-- myself, Majek and Friday Omagbon, who is currently late. If Majek fasted for three days, Friday and I would certainly choose 7 days dry fasting. That was how we grew. We were contending spiritually.

"From time to time, God revealed things to him which he showed to us. As well as those things occurred as they were disclosed to him. If he had not gone into music, he would certainly most definitely come to be a priest of God. If you listen to a lot of his songs, like Holy Spirit, or Righteousness Take Control Of The Earth, he was basically a gospel singer.

WEIRD MANIFESTATION

I began discovering weird manifestations in him at around 1991-2. We had a show at Eko Le'Meriden Resort in Victoria Island, Lagos. To my surprise my brother came on stage fully dressed in a native doctor's outfit as opposed to his routine outfit. By that time, we were not living together anymore.

"Majek's issue is not drug-related. He took to alcohol addiction to overcome his real problem. Falling short to keep the rules of whatever he jumped into, he started to hallucinate. He began seeing things.

"For example, if he was in a room, he would certainly inform you 'open the door, open up the window'. If you inform him the air condition is on, he would certainly claim, 'Can you not see them spirits; you intend to trap the spirits. Man, let the spirits move around freely'.

"He felt he can stop seeing those things by getting drunk. Till day, he has not had the ability to free himself from those spirits. Before we went to Cote d'Ivoire, we had few shows here-- First at Waterparks in Ikeja, then at MUSON Centre on Lagos Island, after that, the eastern part of the country. Already Majek's practices had ended up being erratic. He would certainly come on stage, unzipped his fly and also began claiming , Allow me show you my d ** k. I used to f ** k American P *** y'.

HE BROKE THE RULES'.

"The event we went for in Cote d'Ivoire was like Nigeria's Festac 77. Black artistes from around the world were there for one week at the Félix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan. The Marley family came, so was every big reggae artiste.

"I was determined not to let him disgrace himself the way he had actually been doing recently in Nigeria. We reached our hotel and also after alloting areas, I stuck with him in his suite. As soon as he called room service and ordered for bottle of brandy, I would pick the intercom immediately and cancel the order. We would certainly start to quarrel. For three days, I gave him close marking. He could not consume alcohol. I forced him to eat.

"On the 3rd night, around 2 a.m., while we were enjoying a film in his suit, he took a look at me and shaked his head. He said: 'Amos I envy you, men'. I said 'What do you mean? How can you envy me, you are the star '.He said: 'You won't understand. Simply hang on to Christ, the way you are, he would award you at last'.

"I started probing him. One of the question I asked was: "All these reports about you reading the seven (7) books of Moses, are you actually reading them? His reply: "7 books of Moses? Those are kindergarten books'. He began mentioning books that I have never heard of in my life. He discussed names as well. That was exactly how he came up with the line, that he is reaching the degree of de Lawrence. He told me numerous things. He told me he couldn't keep the rules. He broke the policies. However he failed to tell me what the rules were.

"It was in Lagos he mixed up with the wrong group, but his case worsened in the United States. The circle he fell under in America complicated his problem, particularly when he met a promoter called Paul (surname withheld).

"When he was signed on to Interscope Records, they brought in the producer of U2 to work in his album. That man likewise spiritually influenced him negatively. Those two people were high in spiritism. There is no difference in spiritism here in Nigeria and also over there in America. The devil is the same everywhere.

"This is the paradox: once Majek jumps on stage, the spirit steps aside for him to perform; when he done preforming, the spirit comes back to begin the torture".