Search - Various Artists :: Rough Guide to Lucky Dube

Perhaps reflecting Lucky Dube's own studiousness, The Rough Guide to Lucky Dube comes with exemplarily informative liner notes. Born in Transvaal in 1964, Lucky Dube, Africa's reggae king, was passionate about history before he was bitten by the reggae bug. He spent his early manhood working as a librarian while chasing up Peter Tosh records in Zimbabwe. His first musical incarnation was as a singer of mbaqanga--the pop style that was sweeping the townships--but after Bob Marley's appearance at Zimbabwe's independence celebrations, Lucky chose the reggae route. His first reggae album was censored, but his second passed through and immediately established him as a top-selling African star. Since then he has collaborated with Peter Gabriel, Sting, and Michael Jackson, starred at the Reggae Sunsplash festival and Womad, and taken the rest of the world by storm. What's most striking about this retrospective collection is the consistency of both his style and message: this is unashamedly commercial music, with super-slick backing and studio effects, but its spirit is that of a political crusade for decency between races and nations. And Lucky Dube's voice comes from the heart, to the heart. --Michael Church