Lucky Dube

Biography

Lucky Philip Dube (pronounced duu-beh; 3 August 1964 – 18 October 2007) was a South African reggae musician and Rastafarian. His record sales across the world earned him the Best Selling African Musician prize at the 1996 World Music Awards. In his lyrics, Dube discussed issues affecting South Africans and Africans in general to a global audience. He recorded 22 albums in a 25-year period and was Africa's best-selling reggae artist of all time. Dube was murdered in the Johannesburg suburb of Rosettenville on the evening of 18 October 2007.

Early life

Lucky Dube was born in Ermelo, Transvaal (now Mpumalanga), on 3 August 1964. His parents separated before his birth, and he was raised by his mother, who named him "Lucky" because she considered his birth fortunate after a number of failed pregnancies. Along with his two siblings, Thandi and Mandla, Dube spent much of his childhood with his grandmother, Sarah, while his mother relocated to work. In a 1999 interview, he described his grandmother as "his greatest love", who "multiplied many things to bring up this responsible individual that I am today".

Musical beginnings

Dube worked as a gardener in his younger years but later decided to go to school in order to improve his economic prospects. There, he joined a choir and with some friends, formed his first musical ensemble, the Skyway Band. While at school, he discovered the Rastafari movement. At the age of eighteen, Dube joined his cousin's band, the Love Brothers, playing Zulu pop music known as mbaqanga. The band signed with Teal Record Company and recorded the album Lucky Dube and the Supersoul, and Dube began to learn English. In 1986, together with his cousin Richard Siluma, Dube released the Afrikaans album Die Kaapse Dans, followed by the EP Help My Krap, the same year, under the name Oom Hansie.

Reggae

On the release of his fifth album, Dave Segal (who became Dube's sound engineer) encouraged him to drop the "Supersoul" element of the name. All subsequent albums were recorded as Lucky Dube. Around this time, the singer noticed that fans were responding positively to some reggae songs he played during concerts. Drawing inspiration from Jimmy Cliff and Peter Tosh, he felt the socio-political messages associated with Jamaican reggae were relevant to a South African audience in an institutionally racist society.
He decided to try the new musical genre, and in 1984, released the mini album Rastas Never Die. The record sold poorly—around 4,000 units—in comparison to the 30,000 units his mbaqanga records would sell. Keen to suppress anti-apartheid activism, the regime banned the album in 1985, because of its critical lyrics, such as in the song "War and Crime". Dube was not discouraged, however, and continued to perform the reggae tracks live and wrote and produced a second reggae album, Think About the Children×Think About The Children1986 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracksA1How Will I KnowA2I Will Never Fall in LoveA3Think About the ChildrenB1I Wanna Take You to Jamaica (African Woman)B2I Have Got JehovahB3Don't Say No, in 1985. It achieved Platinum sales status and established Dube as a popular reggae artist in South Africa, in addition to attracting attention outside his homeland.

Commercial and critical success

Dube continued to release commercially successful albums. In 1989, he won four OKTV Awards for Prisoner, one for Captured Live the following year, and another two for House of Exile, the year after. His 1993 album, Victims×Victims1993 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Different Colours / One People4:092Lovers in a Dangerous Time5:023Victims4:194My World4:215My Game6:176Keep On Knocking3:547Soldiers for Righteousness6:248You Know (Where to Find Me)3:569Johnny4:3410Little Heroes4:12, sold over one million copies worldwide. In 1995, he earned a worldwide recording contract with Motown. His 1995 album, Trinity×Trinity31 March 1995 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Feel Irie6:00A2Trinity6:08A3Serious Reggae Business4:22A4My Brother, My Enemy4:23A5Rasta Man's Prayer3:57B1Puppet Master5:14B2Affirmative Action6:22B3Big Boys Don't Cry6:14B4Life in the Movies5:46B5God Bless the Women3:54B6You Got No Right6:56, was the first release on Tabu Records after Motown's acquisition of the label.
In 1996, he released the compilation album Serious Reggae Business×Serious Reggae Business1996 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1Mr. DJ2:172Feel Irie5:593Together As One4:584Slave4:305Steel Bars0:516Prisoner4:177Reggae Strong3:478Oh My Son (I'm Sorry)4:019Remember Me4:3010I Want To Know What Love Is4:3611House Of Exile3:3312Peace Perfect Peace2:5813Victims4:2114I've Got You Babe4:2115It's Not Easy5:3416Different Colours, One People4:1017Back To My Roots4:14, which led to him being named the "Best Selling African Recording Artist" at the World Music Awards and the "International Artist of the Year" at the Ghana Music Awards. His next three records each won South African Music Awards. His 2006 album, Respect×Respect2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Respect5:462Shut Up5:093Political Games5:134Changing World5:255Shembe Is the Way6:026Monster4:507Celebrate Life5:288The One5:559Choose Your Friends5:2110Never Leave You5:0411Mask5:3112Touch Your Dreams5:27, earned a European release through a deal with Warner Music. Dube toured internationally, sharing stages with artists such as Sinéad O'Connor, Peter Gabriel, and Sting. He appeared at the 1991 Reggae Sunsplash (uniquely that year, he was invited back onstage for a 25-minute-long encore) and the 2005 Live 8 event in Johannesburg.
In addition to performing music, Dube was a sometime actor, appearing in the feature films Voice in the Dark, Getting Lucky, and Lucky Strikes Back.
Dube took reggae music and used it as a platform to promote racial equality within South Africa during apartheid. He used the musical genre to frame his arguments about colonialism and the African slave trade, and how he felt that Africa should be reclaimed by the black race.

Death

On 18 October 2007, Lucky Dube was killed by armed robbers in Rosettenville, a Johannesburg suburb, shortly after dropping two of his seven children off at their uncle's house. Dube was driving his Chrysler 300C, which the assailants were after. Police reports suggest he was shot dead by carjackers who did not recognise him; a state witness additionally claimed that he was targeted under the false notion that he was Nigerian. Five men were arrested in connection with the murder; three were tried and found guilty on 31 March 2009. Two of the men attempted to escape and were caught. Dube's convicted killers were sentenced to life in prison.

Legacy

On 21 October 2008, Rykodisc released a compilation album entitled Retrospective×Retrospective21 October 2008 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Baxolelenei2Abathakathi3Rastas Never Die4Slave5Prisoner6One Love7Crazy World8Different Colours9My Game10Trinity11Guns and Roses12Crime and Corruption13Changing World, which featured many of Dube's most influential songs as well as tracks previously not released in the United States. The album celebrated Dube's music and honored the contributions he made to South Africa.
The Roots Reggae Library has taken steps to store digital versions of the artist's mbaqanga albums made in the 1980s. Five of the six albums have been retrieved; Ngikwethembe Na has yet to be found.
As one of the first artists to bring African reggae to the mainstream, Dube bridged cultural gaps within the African diaspora. What his music did was "[present] a praxis of cross-culturality and visionary possibility". Dube gave Africa a voice and put its culture on the global stage by joining the global reggae community. Through taking Jamaican music back to its roots, he recontextualized the oppression and political struggles that reggae seeps itself in, bringing the basis of the diaspora back in conversation with the diaspora at large to allow for a more pan-African form of cultural expression. Dube's roots reggae brought African people to the table in terms of conversation about the black diaspora by mimicking Caribbean artists' assertions of African authenticity.
On 22 September 2017, Gallo Records South Africa released a 25-track limited-edition commemorative album titled The Times We've Shared. The album features Dube's biggest hits, exclusive performances, and three previously unreleased tracks.
In Australia, Dube's music has found resonance in remote Aboriginal communities, and his popularity has led him to be called "Bigger than the Beatles" throughout much of central and northern Australia.
In August 2026, the Mpumalanga Department of Education opened the Lucky Dube Secondary School of Performing Arts for the community of Ermelo.