No, I'm not talking about Peter Frampton. I'm talking about Lucky Dube (Doo-bay). It may be hard to take him seriously at first sight, since he looks like Lenny Kravitz or one of the members of Milli Vanilli, bbut don't be fooled, this man was a badass. I first heard of Lucky Dube following his unfortunate death. Some fuckhead carjackers in South Africa killed one of the world's greatest artists for his goddamn car. What the fuck? Initially I blew Lucky Dube's music off because I hadn't really liked previous examples of South African music that I had heard. I got my first legitimate taste of Lucky Dube when I walked into a reggae/head shop in Venice Beach last month while on Spring Break. Floating out from the speakers was the smoothest, most soulful reggae music. "What is this?" I asked. "Eets Lucky Dube mon," the Rasta working the shop answered. Now, having listened to Lucky Dube all weekend, I love the man and can't understand the randomness of his death. I immediately equate him with Fela in the sense that his songs are all urgent and passionate pleas for love, equality, and less nonsense for the government. The main difference being that Fela always sounded like he was on the verge of leading a violent revolution against Obasanjo, no matter the costs. Lucky Dube approached the problems of South Africa in a much more "come together" sense. Either way, both Fela and Lucky Dube provide an example of what political music really is. Don't be fooled by the likes of will.i.am, etc. This is Serious Reggae Business.
Lucky Dube- Feel Irie
Lucky Dube- Together As One (Live)
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