On 18 October 2007, Lucky Dube dropped his son and daughter off in Rosettenville, Johannesburg. Moments later, carjackers shot him dead. South Africa lost its biggest reggae star, and fans across Africa mourned.
Lucky Philip Dube was born in 1964 in Ermelo, in what is now Mpumalanga. His mother had been told she could not have children, and his name reflected the family’s sense of fortune. He grew up poor, working as a gardener as a child, and discovered music at school.
From mbaqanga to reggae
Dube started his career singing mbaqanga, the Zulu township jive popular in South Africa. In the early 1980s, inspired by Peter Tosh and Bob Marley, he began recording reggae. His record company was doubtful, but his first reggae recordings sold well.
The songs
Dube’s reggae spoke to South Africans living under apartheid. “Together As One” called for unity across racial lines. The album Prisoner, released in 1989, sold hundreds of thousands of copies in South Africa. Songs such as “Slave”, “Prisoner”, “Different Colours, One People” and “It’s Not Easy” became anthems across Africa.
Across Africa
Dube became one of the best-selling African artists of his time. He was especially popular in West Africa, including in Ghana and Nigeria, where his songs are still played on radio and at parties. He toured widely, performing at reggae festivals in Europe, North America and Jamaica. At Reggae Sunsplash in Jamaica in 1991, the crowd demanded encore after encore, a rare welcome for an African artist on reggae’s home ground.
He sang mostly in English, which helped his songs travel, but also recorded in Zulu and Afrikaans. His albums of the 1990s, including Victims and Trinity, kept his message consistent: against racism, violence and injustice, and for family, faith and unity.
Reggae in Africa
Dube was part of a wave that made reggae one of Africa’s most popular imported genres, alongside Alpha Blondy and later Tiken Jah Fakoly from Côte d’Ivoire. African reggae artists adapted the Jamaican sound to local struggles, from apartheid to corruption and military rule.
The murder
His death in a carjacking shocked South Africa and became a symbol of the country’s violent crime. Several men were convicted of the murder.
Legacy
Dube recorded more than 20 albums. His songs remain popular across Africa and among reggae fans worldwide. Many African reggae artists cite him as their main influence.
His music urged South Africans to live together in peace. He was killed by the kind of violence he sang against, a few metres from his children.
