Albert “Apple Gabriel” Craig, co-founder and ex-member of the world-famous Israel Vibration has passed away last Monday, March 23, 2020, reports Reggaeville.com.
The cause of his death was said to be a "compilation sickness, not Covid-19", according to a post on Facebook by Roots Radics' Flabba Holt.
Apple Gabriel hasn't been well for quite some time. Struggling with the marks a Polio-infection left on his body throughout his life, reports suggested that, already 10 years back, he was in poor health and living condition.
His last Facebook post from March 7th seems to herald the imminent tragedy, talking about a stroke he had suffered, leaving one side of his body limb, and how he is being discharged without a proper place to go...
His life was never an easy one, and it continued its bumpy journey of ups and
downs after he left Israel Vibration in 1997. His first
tentative steps into a solo career were quite promising.
His debut album Another Moses (1999) found favorable acceptance, he collaborated with bands and artists (e.g. Groundation or Jahcoustix) and did occasional stage shows (e.g. 2009 in Israel.
One of the milestones of the late Apple Gabriel certainly is the album Teach Them Right released in 2010, a testimony of his vocal and compositional talent. However, all these activities didn't provide him with a stable income, so that he was homeless time and again and not able to record all the music that kept simmering inside of him.
Many will remember this talented singer by the words so fittingly found by Heather Augustyn, published on APPLEGABRIEL.com, while he was still among us: "Apple Gabriel [...] has had a hard life. He has been a sufferer in many ways.
Apple Gabriel’s days on this earth have been tough. But despite his warrior shell and words, he throws like stones at his foe, Apple Gabriel is a kind and strong man, a funny and smart man, a creative and productive man, and he is a hell of a musician."
Indeed he was. Most of Israel Vibration's greatest hits stem from his feather, including We A De Rasta, Why You So Craven, Oh Jah Solid Rock, Mud Up, Rude Boy Shuffling, Friday Evening and Walk The Streets of Glory. May he does exactly that - walk onto the glorious paths of heaven - and may his music continue to inspire us.
Coincidentally, Apple left us on the same day on which, 21
years ago, he released his first-ever solo album Another Moses in 1999.
The Death Of Nigerian Reggae Star Majek Fashek
In another development, Nigerian Reggae Star Majek Fashek Dies at 57, reports Billboard. The singer's manager, Omenka Uzoma, told the BBC that Fashek (born Majekodunmi Fasheke), died in his sleep in New York. In an Instagram video, Uzoma reconfirmed the news, praising Fashek for all he did for Nigeria.
Singer/songwriter Fashek was born in the Edo state of Benin in 1963 and rose to prominence in 1988 when he released his solo debut, Prisoner of Conscience (his backing band was known as the Prisoners of Conscience), which included the award-winning single "Send Down the Rain."
With a high, quivering voice that drew comparisons to reggae great Bob Marley, and a conscious vibe in keeping with Marley's push to uplift, Fashek quickly gained a reputation as a voice of righteousness.
He furthered that image with the dancehall-spiked the anti-apartheid song "Free Africa, Free Mandela," from his 1989nalbum I&I Experience. He achieved a rare cross-over success in the United States in 1991, when he signed with Interscope Records and released the Little Steven Van Zandt-produced breakthrough Spirit of Love.
That effort included his biggest international hit, "So Long Too Long," an uplifting anthem that opened with the exhortation, "Arise from your sleep Africa/ Arise from your sleep America/ There's work to be done, Africa."
The song, which Fashek performed on tour while opening for Tracy Chapman and on The Late Show with David Letterman, directly paid homage to Marley's legacy of activist lyricism with lines such as, "Remember, remember, Marcus Garvey/ Who had a dream for you Africa/ Remember, remember, Martin Luther King/ Who had a dream for you America/ They say you are black, they say you are brown/ They say dem white, they say you are brown/ But only the Angels of God is white now/ Only the Angels of God is white."
In 2016, Fashek wrote the song "We Are Not Afraid," which was the soundtrack to an all-star fundraiser video for victims of religious and political violence around the world directed by photographer Bob Gruen that featured more than 200 artists, including Keith Richards, Robert Plant, Bruce Springsteen, Yoko Ono, Robert DeNiro, Sting, Patti Smith, Dr. Jane Goodall, Iggy Pop, Peter Gabriel, Jackson Browne, Chuck D, Joe Walsh, Bonnie Raitt, Darlene Love, Debbie Harry, Dion, Elvis Costello, Grandmaster Flash, Jeff Tweedy and Susan Sarandon, among others.
At press time the cause of Fashek's death was not released.
No comments:
Post a Comment