Keji Hamilton is a veteran Nigerian Afrobeat musician and pastor whose life story spans two dramatically different worlds.
He rose to prominence as a guitarist and keyboardist in Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s Egypt 80 band during the height of the Kalakuta Republic era, before undergoing a well-documented conversion to Christianity that led him to found a drug-rehabilitation ministry and become a senior pastor.
Decades later, he remains an active recording artist, releasing new Afrobeat material while leading his own Exousia Band.
Profile
| Full Name | Suleiman Shuaib (adopted the name Morounkeji “Keji” Hamilton) |
| Stage Name | Keji Hamilton |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Occupation | Musician, composer, arranger, bandleader, pastor, NGO founder |
| Religion | Christianity (converted from Islam) |
| Parents | Father served as a Chief Imam |
| Spouse | Favour Hamilton |
| Children | Two daughters, reported as Toju Jack and Kimberly Hamilton |
Early Life
Keji Hamilton was born Suleiman Shuaib in Nigeria, the son of a Chief Imam, and was raised in a devout Muslim household steeped in Islamic tradition and discipline.
He gained admission to study Pharmacy at the University of Ibadan in 1981, but abandoned his studies after a single session, choosing instead to pursue music.
His father, a police officer who was himself a fan of Fela Kuti’s music, strongly opposed the decision.
Education
Hamilton began a Pharmacy degree at the University of Ibadan in 1981 but did not complete it, leaving formal higher education to join Fela Kuti’s household.
His musical training instead came through direct apprenticeship within Fela’s Kalakuta Republic, where he immersed himself in Fela’s personal library of political and cultural texts and learned instruments informally from senior band members.
Career
Hamilton was introduced to Fela Kuti through Fela’s son Femi, and he subsequently moved into Kalakuta Republic, where he was given a room and, following local custom, adopted a new name, Morounkeji, shortened to Keji, paired with “Hamilton” after actor George Hamilton.
He became a core member of Fela’s Egypt 80 band, playing rhythm and lead guitar before transitioning to piano and keyboard, and went on to also play bass guitar, congas and alto saxophone, becoming known for his multi-instrumental range.
He spent over a decade with the band, touring internationally across the United States and Europe, and trained newer members of the group on keyboard.
During his years in Fela’s household, Hamilton developed a serious drug addiction that began with marijuana and progressed to cocaine and heroin, a period he has described publicly in interviews as involving criminal activity to fund his habit.
He has said a personal encounter with Christ on 7 May 1994 marked the turning point that led him away from addiction, after which he has remained sober.
Hamilton went on to found the Global Centre for Drug Eradication (Nigeria), a registered non-governmental organisation, and served as project director of the House of Joy Rehabilitation Centre, a 45-bed in-patient drug treatment facility operated under a province of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.
He channelled his musical background into Christian ministry, forming the Exousia Band, which fuses his Afrobeat roots with gospel and praise music in what fans have described as a “street-beats” style.
In 2008, after a lengthy period away from the public musical eye, Hamilton released the album Keji, recorded at an analog studio in Lagos and featuring roughly 46 minutes of traditional Afrobeat blending jazz horns, keyboards and African percussion, with tracks including “Designers” and “Innocent Blood.” The record and an accompanying concert, “The Return of Keji,” were well received among Afrobeat listeners and drew praise from producer Cobhams Asuquo. In mid-2026, Hamilton released a new single, “Agbaya People,” under HIS Media Empire, continuing a recording career that by then spanned more than two and a half decades.
Personal Life
Hamilton is married to Favour Hamilton and is reported to have two daughters, Toju Jack and Kimberly Hamilton.
He has spoken openly in interviews about his years of drug addiction and associated criminal activity during his time in Fela Kuti’s household, describing it as a period he is not proud of but one that shaped the redemption narrative central to his ministry today.
He now serves as senior pastor of the Tabernacle of Prayer Global Network, where he regularly shares his testimony at crusades, seminars and conferences.
Social Media
- Instagram: @kejihamilton_
Net Worth
No verified net worth figure is currently available. Hamilton’s income streams are understood to include music recording and touring, and his work as a pastor and rehabilitation-ministry leader.
Works / Contributions
- Egypt 80 Band (Fela Anikulapo-Kuti) — guitarist and later keyboardist, over a decade of touring and recording
- Keji — studio album, 2008
- “Agbaya People” — single, 2026
- Founder, Global Centre for Drug Eradication (Nigeria)
- Project director, House of Joy Rehabilitation Centre
- Senior pastor, Tabernacle of Prayer Global Network
Conclusion
Keji Hamilton’s career bridges two of Nigeria’s most distinctive cultural institutions: the Afrobeat tradition forged in Fela Kuti’s Kalakuta Republic, and the country’s expansive Pentecostal ministry landscape.
As a multi-instrumentalist still releasing new music decades after joining Egypt 80, and as a pastor running an active drug-rehabilitation programme, Hamilton’s story continues to be told both through his catalogue and his testimony.
