Every Friday, we reintroduce African Artists from Africa as well as the Diasporas who are creating an impact outside their region of Africa. These are music legends.

I am a slave....a liquor slave and therein began my introduction to the late Lucky Dube in my home country in Africa.  I didn't pay any attention to the words of his music but there was just something about the rhythms that got to me.  I completely forgot about his genre of music and explored other kinds of music, until I started hanging out with a new friend when I moved to the states.  He was a Reggae Head and of course, you can't be a Reggae head without knowing a little bit of something about Lucky Dube.  Who is Lucky Dube?

Lucky Dube was born in Ermelo, formerly of the Eastern Transvaal, now of Mpumalanga, on August 3, 1964. His parents separated before his birth and he was raised by his mother, Sarah, who named him because she considered his birth fortunate after a number of failed pregnancies^.

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, called The Skyway Band. At the age of 18 Dube joined his cousin's band, The Love Brothers, playing Zulu pop music known as mbaqanga whilst funding his lifestyle by working for Hole and Cooke as a security guard at the car auctions in Midrand. The band signed with Teal Record Company, under Richard Siluma (Teal was later incorporated into Gallo 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 name Lucky 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.

All subsequent albums were recorded as Lucky Dube. At this time Dube began to note fans were responding positively to some reggae songs he played during live 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.

Keen to suppress anti-apartheid activism, the apartheid regime banned the album in 1985. 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 achieved platinum sales status and established Dube as a popular reggae artist in South Africa, in addition to attracting attention outside his homeland.  (wikipedia).

Mbaqanga

• Lengane Ngeyethu (1981)
• Kudala Ngikuncenga (1982)
• Kukuwe (1983)
• Abathakathi (1984)
• Ngikwethembe Na? (1985)
• Umadakeni (1987)

Afrikaans

• Help My Krap (1986)

 Reggae

• Rastas Never Die (1984)
• Think About The Children (1985)
• Slave (1987)
• Together As One (1988)
• Prisoner (1989)
• Captured Live (1990)
• House of Exile (1991)
• Victims (1993)
• Trinity (1995)
• Serious Reggae Business (1996)
• Tax man (1997)
• The Way It Is (1999)
• The Rough Guide To Lucky Dube (compilation) (2001)
• Soul Taker (2001)
• The Other Side (2003)
• Respect (2006)
• The Ultimate Lucky Dube (compilation) (2011)

This weekend - please don't be a liquor slave.First Reggae Music Post...hmmm......Anywayz,  what's going on with this SOPA thingy? 

    - Lucky Dube Slave