published: Friday | October 19, 2007


Reggae musician Lucky Dube was shot dead in a hijacking yesterday in Rosettenville, Johannesburg, South Africa, police say.

The report of the singer's death was published yesterday by the Independent online, an Internet-based news site.

Captain Cheryl Engelbrecht, who reported on the incident, told the news site that the incident took place around 8.20 p.m. when Dube was driving a blue Polo in the Johannesburg suburb.

She said Dube was dropping off his son in the area when he was attacked.

"His son was already out of the car. When he saw what was happening, he ran to ask for help."

The hijackers were still at large.

The boy was too traumatised to provide police with any information, Engelbrecht said.

Dube was a headline performer at the Cricket World Cup opening ceremony at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Sports Complex in March.

Symbolic handing over

His performance was a symbolic handing over of the torch from South Africa, which had hosted the previous Cricket World Cup, to the Caribbean, which was hosting its first.

Dube, who was born in Johannesburg on August 3, 1964, was named 'Lucky' as he was born in poor health and doctors thought he would die, according to Wikipedia.

But Dube survived and went on to become a front-line artist in the reggae genre.

He recorded more than 20 albums in his music career, which spanned more than 20 years, according to Luckydubemusic.com. His albums include Rastas Never Die, Think about the Children, Soul Taker and Trinity. His latest, released in 2006, is called Respect.

www.jamaica-gleaner.com


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Nigeria: Reggae Legend, Lucky Dube Shot Dead

Posted to the web: 20 October 2007

Lagos

South African reggae legend, Lucky Dube was late Thursday slain in an attempted hijacking in Rosettenville, Johannesburg, South Africa. The incident occurred at approximately 8pm, whilst dropping off his children at a family members house.

Although Lucky attempted to escape the scene, he was fatally wounded from the hijacker's attempt to steal his car, and he died almost instantly.

Senseless and random, the death of Lucky Dube leaves a great void in the music industry, as 25 years of music suddenly ends in tragedy.

South African-born but globally revered, Lucky Dube was one of the country's most toured and beloved artists ever.

His music touched millions around the world, primarily through his 22 recorded albums - in Zulu, English and even Afrikaans - many of which have been record breakers with phenomenal sales from around the globe.

As a frontline artist in the reggae genre, Lucky's creativity and inventiveness kept growing.

Compelling in his musicianship and intriguing in his lyrical content, Lucky's sonic daring to take his genre to new heights never failed to amaze even the most ardent fans, whilst reigning in new devotees to his magic every day.

His energetic band toured with him from continent to continent as South African musical ambassadors, and his live performances have earned him fans and accolades the world over.

Lucky joined Teal Records (later to become Gallo) as a fresh-faced young Mbaqanga singer in 1982. Five albums later, he found a genre that spoke to his soul and changed the way he viewed the world. This genre was Reggae.

With his long-time sound engineer and best friend Dave Segal, he created some of the most legendary pieces of reggae music ever recorded, including the tracks Prisoner, Taxman, Slave, Victims, Together As One and Respect - all social anthems that garnered him the adoration of the people of his country - and across the globe.

Lucky Dube was survived by his new wife Zanele and his 7 children Bongi, Nonkululeko,. Thokozani, Laura, Siyanda, Philani and his brand new three-month old baby Melokuhle.

allAfrica.com

Sad sad! He had some good tunes!

I posted this and a other articles about him the day it happened... folks responded that they didn't know him... I think that thread was pruned form the Social Forum

very sad to see this great icon shot down