Tribute to LUCKY DUBE, Africa’s Reggae King

Photos: Lucky Dube in concert

By Vusumzi Nobadula in SOUTH AFRICA

Wherever Lucky Dube appeared for a live show in the politically charged atmosphere of the late 1980s, crowds went wild, and throngs of fans mobbed him excitedly. Since his early days on the music scene, this dreadlocked, charismatic, self-styled reggae artist had always lived up to expectations of his massive fans, delivering powerful lyrics that soon made him a musical icon not only in South Africa, his home country, but also in the rest of the world. However, all that changed on Thursday October 18, 2007, when the reggae icon was shot by three carjacking gunmen in Rosettenville, a suburb of Johannesburg city in South Africa.

In the late 1980s, reggae music was at its height, especially in the developing countries. Through reggae music, freedom-loving peoples from oppressed nations struggled to free themselves from racial oppression. Fans of the genre also looked to reggae for spiritual support.

Defining life in reggae terms is not new. Artists such as Bob Marley and Peter Tosh were regarded as brave social activists who defied brutal conservative regimes the world over, by encouraging oppressed peoples, through their lyrics, to stand up and fight for social justice. Their music was banned in countries such as apartheid-era South Africa. Although not popular with oppressive regimes, fans worldwide continue to regard reggae artists as struggle heroes and freedom fighters. That includes international reggae star Lucky Dube, who, until his death, was considered by many to be Africa’s reggae king.

Lucky Philip Dube (pronounced as “doo-be”), was born on August 3, 1964, in Ermelo, present-day Mpumalanga Province of the Republic of South Africa. His parents named him Lucky, after his mother, Sarah, had several trials of failed pregnancies. He was born in poor health, and the doctors expected him to die. Dube's parents separated before he was born, so his mother had to bring him up, alone. However, due to apartheid in South Africa at the time, and the Group Areas Act, which separated residents through racial profiling, his mother was barely able to take care of her children. Sarah took Dube and his two siblings, Thandi and Patrick, to their grandmother, then moved to look for domestic work away from home.

At the age of nine, Dube was chosen as library assistant at his school. His desire to learn about the rest of the world, and South Africa’s controversial history, had him immediately immersed in the world of literature. He read widely, and became acquainted with the Rastafarian religion, which he discovered in the encyclopedia. He also read about reggae music, which is strongly linked to Rastafarianism. While at school, Dube began to discover his musical interests. He joined the school choir, where he excelled as a natural performer. One day, the choir master walked out of their practice, and Dube filled in as the choir boss. His leadership led to his school winning in third place during the inter-school festivals, something that was a rare feat for his school choir. Dube soon became popular with his teachers and his peers, which in turn made him look to school as a place for comfort and musical opportunities.

Out of necessity, Dube worked as a child before he could afford to join school. He worked in white people’s gardens in the suburbs. He soon earned enough money, and bought himself Peter Tosh albums, the only available reggae albums in South Africa at the time.

When Dube was 18, he joined his cousin's band, The Love Brothers. They played traditional Zulu music, known as Mbaqanga. Soon afterwards, the band signed up with Teal Records, which is now known as Gallo Record Company, and Dube’s official record company. Although recorded with The Love Brothers, their first record was released as Lucky Dube and The Supersoul, with Dube as the lead singer. The second album came soon afterwards, and this time, Dube wrote the lyrics. With their third album, they already had a considerable fan base, and Lucky Dube could afford to purchase some instruments and a recording suite.

Around the time of his fifth Mbaqanga album, Dube met Dave Segal, who later became his engineer. From that point, he recorded all of Dube's albums. But Segal thought a name-change was in order, and this saw the dropping of the "Supersoul" tag. All the albums that followed were branded Lucky Dube. At this time, Dube had already been listening to Jamaican reggae. The social message in the lyrics particularly intrigued him, especially the commentaries on the struggles of black people. He felt that reggae was the perfect medium to comment on apartheid in South Africa, and the general political situation. He decided to try the new musical genre, starting with a recording of the mini album, Rastas Never Die. Dube played all the instruments himself, and Dave Segal backed him up with studio effects. But the record was a flop, selling only 4,000 units, while his Mbaqanga records sales stood at 30,000 units. Fearing a possible loss of his fan base, the record company required Lucky Dube to stay with his Mbaqanga style. However, Dube was not discouraged. He performed reggae tracks live, and started to write more lyrics. His fans grew familiar with the new sound, and began to like it.

Ignoring the record company's advice, he produced Think about the Children, his second reggae album. The album became his breakthrough record, and reached platinum status. The success of the album played a major role in debuting Lucky Dube as a popular reggae artist on the world stage. Until his demise, he still produced music albums and toured around the world.

His last international tour was in the United states, in August and September 2007. His reggae tours were marked with mammoth crowds, and some excited fans were seen being turned away because the shows were sold out. He performed in cities such as Lafayette, Louisiana; Elpaso, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona; and Hollywood, California, among others.

Having been ranked as one of the most famous reggae artists in modern times, many critics and observers would agree that Lucky Dube sang the music of social consciousness. That Lucky Dube was as strongly admired throughout the world as he was in the last two decades before his death, is undisputed. In a special tribute, Ivor Haarburger, CEO of Gallo Music Group noted that Dube had a bigger following internationally than in South Africa. He was the only South African artist with a record signed to Motown Records. With more than twenty awards for his musical contribution in South Africa and the world, Lucky Dube was the undisputed reggae king of his time. He liked horses, and owned several of the galloping beasts on his farm in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Some of his most popular albums include Slave (1990); Prisoner (1991); Captured Live (1991); Together as One (1994), and Respect, which was released in 2006. Lucky Dube is survived is by his wife Zanele, and seven children.

Edited by Rosemary K

Photo credits: reggaephotos.de