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Musiliu Peregrino
Brimah 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 centre 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 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.

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!”

To be continued… Majek in America, how Brimah groomed Paul Dairo,
Asa, and his plans to celebrate Nigeria@50 with a mega Nigeria-Ghana
music concert.