I was far from South African reggae star Lucky Dube’s biggest fan, only having a couple of his albums, but I liked what I heard. Perhaps most memorable for me were the lyrics in his title song “Prisoner” - “They won’t build no schools anymore/They won’t build no hospitals(x2)/All they’ll build will be prison, prison (x4).” The song is not simplistic in its blame - “Somebody told me about it/When I was still a little boy/He said to me, crime does not pay/He said to me, education is the key, yeah/As a little boy I thought I knew/What I was doing, yeah man/But today here I am in jail” - but I was nonetheless struck by the idea that what society invests in says something about the members of the society.
The Voice of America reports on Lucky Dube’s murder October 18, 2007:
“South African police say the renowned Reggae musician was shot by three gunmen as he dropped off his son in the Rosettenville suburb of Johannesburg.
Police spokesperson Lorraine Van Emmerick told national radio that Lucky Dube’s daughter also witnessed the shooting.
‘He was hijacked. He was able to flee from the scene,’ said Van Emmerick. ‘His children were out of the vehicle at the time Mr. Dube was shot. He was declared dead at the scene by the paramedics [after crashing his car].’
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South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with nearly 20,000 homicides last year.
Many of the killings occur during robberies and hijackings. These are common in a country where one-half of the population lives on less than $2 per day.”
Lucky Dube is South Africa’s biggest selling reggae musician and has an international following. He made over 20 albums in a 25-year career and is known for his social commentary. He was 43 years old.
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