Peace, Perfect Peace: A Lucky Dube Playlist
October 19th, 2007 | 12:09 pm est |
South African reggae legend Lucky Dube was killed yesterday during a carjacking incident in Johannesburg, South Africa. “Africa’s Reggae King” spent two years performing in the traditional Zulu mbaganga style before he was inspired to switch to reggae after hearing the militant music of Peter Tosh. His songs criticized the South African government but always preached the spirit of unity amongst the people. His death sadly brings 25 years of important rebellion music to a close. Here are some of the crucial tracks.
This is a truly sad event and a big loss to the roots reggae
community. South Africa’s huge crime problem (especially around
Johannesburg) has never been adequately addressed and car-jacking is a terrible scourge. It is so sad to think that South Africa is actually one of the “best” countries in Africa in which to live when talking about the general economic and political scene, but there are many terrible crimes and an HIV epidemic that the government does not seem to know how to handle. If the ANC were to get totally down on crime and corruption, they might lose support from people who would equate that with the policies of the ousted National Party especially since the crime is very often black on black. However, it is time someone stood up to these thugs!
Lucky was a fan of Peter Tosh, and now he’s been shot in a senseless crime just like The Stepping Razor. Both men saw corrupt governments up close and knew that the world had its share of evil. However, there are many songs that Tosh and Dube sang that dealt with hope and love. We can only hope those types of messages will finally get heard and appreciated. Reggae is resilient and has only grown richer by the talents of men like Dube and Tosh. RIP Lucky - we will miss you!