Lucky Dube - 'Jah Jah Son' Dies

Sad to hear early this morning about the sudden death of one of `South Africa's favourite sons. Lucky Dube was killed in a car-jacking after dropping his children off in Johannesburg around 8pm on Thursday evening.

Much loved by his fellow South Africans, I'm sure he will be thought of at tomorrow's world cup Rugby final against England.

For me Dube was one of those many African artists who adopted Jamaican reggae music as their own and helped spread the true message of reggae across the continent. By doing so, they inadvertently helped bridge the gap between Jamaica and the motherland, Africa.

Born outside Johannesburg in 1964, Dube was named "Lucky" by his mother because he was the first child to be born after several failed pregnancies.

Dube started singing in 1982, joining a band playing Mbaqanga, or traditional Zulu music. It was only later that he began recording reggae tracks as a solo singer, but the genre was to dominate and define the remainder of his career.

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