Dube's musical message free at last

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Reggae star Lucky Dube's music once provoked visits from South Africa's apartheid authorities. His tour of three islands begins today. Lucky Dube 9 tonight Kapono's $19.50 advance, $25 at door 536-2100 Also: On Maui, 7 p.m. Saturday, Maui Arts & Cultural Center, $19.50 advance, $27 (day of show), (808) 242-7469. In Kailua-Kona, 3 p.m. Sunday, Swing Zone, $19.50 advance, $25 (door), (808) 329-6909.

You've mentioned Peter Tosh as one of the main influences on your desire to pursue reggae. What did you admire most about him?

It was his voice and the message that he had in his music. He talked about things that were happening to me in South Africa even though he was in Jamaica — the brutality that was going on in his life, say, with the police and politicians.

Your 1984 debut "Rasta Never Dies" really upset the former South African government.

They didn't like anything that was telling the truth about life in South Africa ... because it would make people aware of the political situation. That's what happened with the music we came out with. It was making people aware of situations in South Africa. ... Because even having a Bob Marley or Peter Tosh CD was trouble with the police, I knew there was going to be some turbulence with the law when I started. Maybe because I was young and ignorant at the time, it didn't really bother me.

Still, it must've been a frightening time for a musician like you.

It was, yes. You never knew what was going to happen. Time and again, they would send government authorities to our live shows to listen to what we said. So you never knew ... who was listening and what they were going to do about it.

You still live in Johannesburg. What hasn't changed post-apartheid?

The issue of race. Black is still black. White is still white. There's still a lot of racial discrimination going on. And understandably so. That's going to take a long time to go away. It might never go away. America has one of the oldest freedoms, if we may call it that. But there's still racial discrimination that goes on from time to time. Even in South Africa, the books have been changed. But the minds of the people have not been changed yet.

Do you listen to current reggae?

I haven't been listening to any reggae, really, for some time now. (Laughs.) I listen to other things. I listen to country music. I listen to mbube (African choral) music, (such as Ladysmith) Black Mambazo. I listen to Bruce Hornsby and stuff like that, just getting inspiration from different genres of music.

Bruce Hornsby? Really?

He wrote "The Show Goes On" and "The Way It Is" ... songs that I wish I had written because they're so beautiful. (Laughs.) They're amazing songs and he's an amazing musician. When he plays the piano, the notes, they just touch you.