How South Africa's Lucky Dube brought reggae to Africa

By Brian Okoth

South Africa's Lucky Dube was a teenager growing up in the eastern province of Mpumalanga in the early 1980s, when fame found him, and it found him prepared to conquer the world.

Born on August 3, 1964, Dube was raised by his mother during infancy. Later, his grandmother took him in after the artiste's mother went out of town in search of employment.

The musician's parents had separated before his birth. Dube had two siblings.

African American Registry, a non-profit organisation, says Dube was named "Lucky" by his mother after she had several failed pregnancies.

Childhood dream

In his early teen years, Dube worked as a gardener, and later joined school with the hope that education would help him get a well-paying job.

It was during his days in school that he formed a band called Skyway Band with a few of his friends.

In his late teen years, Dube joined his cousin's band called The Love Brothers, which was playing Zulu pop music called Mbaqanga.

He however left the group in 1985 to pursue his childhood dream of being a reggae artiste. Dube's first reggae album called "Rastas Never Die" was released that year.

International recognition

The South African government however banned it over contents it termed "controversial."

"Think About The Children" and "Slave" music albums, which followed, were warmly received within and outside South Africa.

By 1987, Dube was South Africa's first reggae musician to gain international recognition.

His music idols were Jamaican reggae artistes Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, and Peter Tosh.

Signed by Motown

In interviews, Dube said that Jamaican reggae music contained socio-political messages that mirrored what was happening in South Africa during apartheid.

The songs "Prisoner", "House of Exile", among others, won him numerous awards in the early 1990s, and in 1993, his album called "Victims" sold one million copies worldwide.

Due to Dube's global fame, American record label Motown signed him in the mid-1990s. The musician said he had gained inspiration to write songs from "real things that happened" around him.

During South Africa's 1994 elections, Dube said it did not matter which race governed the country so long as the government represented all people.

Fatal shooting

The musician, who had more than 20 albums, won several career awards, including the Best Selling African Recording Artiste at the World Music Awards.

On October 18, 2007, he was fatally shot in South Africa's city of Johannesburg in what was reported to be a carjacking incident.

In April 2009, a Johannesburg court passed a life sentence on three male convicts over the deadly shooting of the artiste.

Dube, who died aged 43, was survived by his spouse Zanele and seven children. In 2008, South Africa awarded him a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award.

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