17 Facts About Lucky Dube

Lucky Philip Dube was a South African reggae musician and Rastafarian.

Lucky Dube recorded 22 albums in a 25-year period and was Africa's best-selling reggae artist of all time.

Lucky Dube was murdered in the Johannesburg suburb of Rosettenville on the evening of 18 October 2007.

Lucky Dube was born in Ermelo, Transvaal, on 3 August 1964.

Lucky Dube's 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.

Lucky Dube worked as a gardener in his younger years but later decided to go to school in order to improve his economic prospects.

At the age of eighteen, Lucky Dube joined his cousin's band, the Love Brothers, playing Zulu pop music known as mbaqanga.

In 1986, together with his cousin Richard Siluma, Lucky Dube released the Afrikaans album Die Kaapse Dans, followed by the EP Help My Krap, the same year, under the name Oom Hansie.

Lucky Dube decided to try the new musical genre, and in 1984, released the mini album Rastas Never Die.

Lucky Dube was not discouraged and continued to perform the reggae tracks live and wrote and produced a second reggae album, Think About the Children, in 1985.

Lucky Dube toured internationally, sharing stages with artists such as Sinead O'Connor, Peter Gabriel, and Sting.

Lucky Dube appeared at the 1991 Reggae Sunsplash and the 2005 Live 8 event in Johannesburg.

Lucky Dube took reggae music and used it as a platform to promote racial equality within South Africa during apartheid.

Lucky Dube 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.

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.

Lucky Dube was driving his Chrysler 300C, which the assailants were after.

Lucky Dube gave Africa a voice and put its culture on the global stage by joining the global reggae community.