Early life
Lucky Dube was born inErmelo, formerly of the EasternTransvaal, now ofMpumalanga, on 3 August 1964. His parents separated before his birth, and he was raised by his mother, who named himLuckybecause 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."
Beginning of his musical career
As a child Dube worked as a gardener but, as he matured, realizing that he wasn't earning enough to feed his family, he began to attend school. There he joined a choir and with some friends, formed his first musical ensemble, calledThe Skyway Band.While at school he discovered theRastafari movement. At the age of 18 Dube joined his cousin's band,The Love Brothers, playingZulupop musicknown asmbaqangawhilst funding his lifestyle by working for Hole and Cooke as a security guard at the car auctions inMidrand. The band signed with Teal Record Company, under Richard Siluma (Teal was later incorporated intoGallo Record Company). Though Dube was still at school, the band recorded material in Johannesburg during his school holidays. The resultant album was released under the nameLucky Dube and the Supersoul. The second album was released soon afterwards, and this time Dube wrote some of the lyrics in addition to singing. It was around this same time when he began to learn English.
Moving into 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 asLucky Dube. At this time Dube began to note fans were responding positively to some reggae songs he played duringlive concerts. Drawing inspiration fromJimmy CliffandPeter Tosh,he felt the socio-political messages associated with Jamaican reggae were relevant to a South African audience in aninstitutionally racistsociety.
He decided to try the new musical genre and in 1984, released themini albumRastas Never Die. The record sold poorly – around 4000 units – in comparison to the 30,000 units his mbaqanga records would sell. Keen to suppress anti-apartheid activism, the apartheid regime banned the album in 1985, because of its critical lyrics, for instance in the song"War and Crime".However, he was not discouraged and continued to perform the reggae tracks live and wrote and produced a second reggae album.Think About The Children(1985). It achievedplatinum sales statusand 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 fourOKTV AwardsforPrisoner, won another forCaptured Livethe following year and yet another two forHouse of Exilethe year after.His 1993 album,Victimssold over one million copies worldwide.In 1995 he earned a worldwide recording contract withMotown. His albumTrinitywas the first release onTabu Recordsafter Motown's acquisition of the label.
In 1996 he released acompilation album,Serious Reggae Business, which led to him being named the "Best Selling African Recording Artist" at theWorld Music Awardsand the "International Artist of the Year" at theGhana Music Awards. His next three albums each wonSouth African Music Awards.His most recent album,Respect, earned a European release through a deal withWarner Music.Dube toured internationally, sharing stages with artists such asSinéad O'Connor,Peter GabrielandSting.He appeared at the 1991Reggae Sunsplash(uniquely that year, was invited back on stage for a 25-minute-long encore) and the 2005Live 8event in Johannesburg.
In addition to performing music Dube was a sometime actor, appearing in the feature filmsVoice in the Dark,Getting LuckyandLucky Strikes Back.
Lucky Dube is considered to be especially remarkable as a Dub Artist due to his lack of a diasporic cultural base. This was particularly due to the nature ofReggaeand Dub being a platform for expression of displacement from the homeland. InPrisoner, the South African artist makes the genre his own by applying themes of apartheid and internal displacement.In the song and music video, he is found disturbing the bounds of the genre by highlighting the toils of his own homeland. He was revolutionary in so far as he introduced a competing version to Reggae's constant tendency of romanticizing the utopian homeland of Africa.
Dube took Dub and used it as a platform to promote racial equality within Africa during the Apartheid. He used dub 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 robbers at a Johannesburg suburb called Rosettenville. Shortly after dropping two of his seven children off at their uncle's house.Dube was driving hisChrysler 300C, which the assailants were after. Police reports suggest he was shot dead bycarjackerswho did not recognize him and believed 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.The men were sentenced to life in prison.
Legacy
On 21 October 2008,Rykodiscreleased a compilation album entitledRetrospective, which featured many of Dube's most influential songs as well as previously unreleased tracks in the United States. The album celebrated Dube's music and honored the contributions he made to South Africa.TheRoots Reggae Libraryhas taken steps to store digital versions of the Mbaqange albums made in the 80's. Five of the six albums have been retrieved.Ngikwethembe Nahas yet to be found.As one of the first artists to bring African reggae to the mainstream, Dube bridged cultural gaps within theAfrican diaspora. What Lucky Dube's music did was " a praxis of cross-culturality and visionary possibility"that the diaspora at large tends to erase. Dube gave Africa a voice and put its culture on the global stage by joining the global reggae community. Through taking Jamaican roots 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 morepan-Africanform 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 or racial utopia.Lucky Dube ultimately shows how Africans have to find their way into the conversations of the Black Diaspora by mimicking their assertions of African authenticity or racial utopia. Dube catalyzed roots reggae's appearance as a popular form of protest song.This helped “legitimize and strengthen the oppositional gesture in popular African music and culture, particularly for those generations born after decolonization.
On 18 October 2017, Gallo Records South Africa released a 25 track limited edition commemorative album titledThe Times We've Shared. The album features his biggest hits exclusive performances and 3 previously unreleased tracks.
InAustralia, Lucky Dube's music has found resonance in remoteAustralian Aboriginalcommunities, and his popularity has led Lucky Dube to be called "Bigger than theBeatles" throughout much of central and northern Australia.In 2005, Dube was a touring act inAlice Springs, incentral Australia, promoted by entrepreneur Scott Booco*ck, on advice from his friend, Joe Miller, adisc jockeyon local First Nations radio stationCAAMA Radio, and he had noted that Dube's popularity was growing. Dube's Australian tour started in May 2005, and he played in Alice Springs (to a crowd of 4,000 people),Darwin, Northern Territory, andCairns, Queensland.
