Photo by Leon Morris/Redferns/Getty Images
Lucky Philip Dube, possibly one of the finest South African reggae musicians and Rastafarian the world has ever seen had capsulized a revolutionary epoch of idealistic youths who longed for an Africa that would have been freed of the shackles of its foreign influence. Belonging to a non-affluent Zulu family in a racially divided South Africa led him to develop a unique point of view that was reflected in his music.
Born in Ermelo, South Africa, in 1964, the singer was named ‘Lucky’ because his mother considered his birth a miracle. Lucky Dube started his musical career performing the local “mbaqanga” form of Zulu music and went on to join the choir. He later founded The Sky Way Band while he was in high school, which turned out to be a massive hit with their album ‘Bazolelen’ released in 1983. In 1984, he was featured in the film ‘Getting Lucky’ and an album was released including the soundtrack from the film.
This globally acclaimed reggae star has 22 albums in Zulu, English, and Afrikaans to his credit, and that too in a period of 25 years. Some of his most popular tracks include the following:
1/5.
‘Different Colors – One People’ from Victims (1993)
The song ‘Different Colors – One People’ first appeared in the album Victims (1993), and then again on the album Serious Reggae Business (1996). The song is an ode to the celebration of unity in diversity. With an elaborate history of racial and tribal frictions and discrimination, South Africa has borne witness to multiple wars throughout time. Through this song, Dube evokes a message of love, peace, and unity – he calls for the oneness of all, irrespective of ethnic and racial distinctions. This musical masterpiece lauds the breaking of racial and ethnic barriers that had been provided impetus during the Apartheid. He condemns the policy of divide-and-rule by politicians and governments. Victims sold over a million copies worldwide.
2/5.
‘The Way It Is’ from The Way It Is (1999)
The title track from the 1999 album is one of the most critical songs by the African Reggae Legend. In it, he extensively criticizes the African politicians who make lots of promises before elections but as soon as they get into office, all those promises turn out to be fake and they do nothing for the upliftment of the people who elected them in the first place. The song received immense applause from the audience because of his fearless approach to the issue of corruption.
3/5.
‘Together As One’ from Together As One(1988)
The title track of the album released in 1988 appeared a second time in his 1990 album Captured Live and then once again in the 1996 album Serious Reggae Business. The song got a positive global reception because of its strong criticism of the Apartheid regime. It became an advocate of unity, compelling people to come together as one. Apartheid remains a huge blot in the history of mankind and Dube leaves no stone unturned in exposing the same with this song.
4/5.
‘It Is Not Easy’ from House of Exile(1991)
This song from the award-winning album House of Exile released in 1991 is one of the most emotional numbers that the artist released over his lifetime. In 1992, the artist was invited by Peter Gabriel to take part in the Real World Recording Week, and he also joined Gabriel on stage at the 10th anniversary of the Womad Festival. As the two performed a duet on ‘It Is Not Easy’, they formed a relationship that led to Lucky joining Gabriel on the Womad world tour, and him sharing the stage with a wide range of artists, from rock stars to folk musicians.
5/5.
‘Slave’ from Slave(1987)
The title track from the 1987 album became one of the most popular tunes produced by the artist and remains an adroit masterpiece. The title of the song might be misleading – if one has not heard the song, from its title and from the fact that it was released during the dark days of apartheid, one might assume that the song might be about racism, but it is actually about alcoholism. The song exhibits clear influences of artists like Peter Tosh but the definitive sound of the township keyboard reveals its South African roots. The album sold over half a million copies and was responsible for much of Dube’s global acclaim.
Dube’s attraction for Reggae had been ignited when he saw it as the best means to reach the masses. His Reggae mini-album record Rastas Never Die was released in 1984. However, the album ended up selling only 4000 copies as it was banned by the apartheid state due to its critical lyricism as heard in the song ‘War and Crime’, fearing that it might lead to anti-apartheid action from the masses.
This failed to stop him and he went on to perform the album live on stage while also releasing his second Reggae album Think About The Children in 1985. His albums went on to be huge commercial successes, with Prisoner winning four OKTV Awards in 1989, Captured Live winning one the year after, and House of Exile two the following year.
In 1995, he signed a worldwide recording contract for ‘Trinity’ with Motown after they acquired Tabu Records. Later he won the World Music Awards for “Best Selling African Recording Artist” in 1996, and then the Ghana Music Awards for “International Artist of the Year” for Serious Reggae Business in 1997. His album Respect was released in Europe in a collaboration with Warner Music. In the 1991 Reggae Sunsplash, he performed a 25-minute encore on stage, and later in 2005 at the Johannesburg Live 8 festival.
Dube traveled globally and performed with singers like Sting and Sinéad O’Connor. He also tried his hand at acting and appeared in feature films like Getting Lucky, Lucky Strikes Back, and Voice in the Dark.
On 18 October 2007, this shining star on the musical galaxy ceased to exist when that fateful evening hijackers who allegedly failed to recognize him assumed him to be a Nigerian and killed him in the Johannesburg suburb of Rosettenville.
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