A really popular musician once said, “One thing about music, is when it hits you, you feel no pain.” This popular musician was Bob Marley, the father of Reggae music and also one of the major reasons why Reggae music became popular in Africa in the late 1960s and 70s. After Reggae became widespread in Africa, African musicians started to quickly adopt the music style. Here are our top five African Reggae legends who gave us raw, good Reggae hits just like they were meant to be.
Lucky Dube: An African Reggae Icon
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that we’re starting this list with an icon. Lucky Dube was a phenomenal South African Reggae legend who was also great at playing the guitar and keyboard. Born in 1964, he was one of the most famous African Reggae legends. Philip Lucky Dube gave us a total of 22 albums during his lifetime. He sang in multiple languages, including English, Zulu, and Afrikaans.
In the beginning, Lucky Dube’s music career was off to a rocky start. The South African government strongly opposed his music for criticizing certain apartheid movements. It got so bad that they banned his first album from radio airplay. But as you know, good music cannot stay hidden for long. Soon after, Lucky Dube’s fan base grew and his music spread far across the borders of South Africa.
He gave us gems like “Prisoner”, “Together As One”, and “Crazy Love.”
Alpha Blondy
Seydou Koné, also known as Alpha Blondy, is an African Reggae legend from Ivory Coast. He sings in Dyula, French, and English. Like most Reggae music, his songs are on political and social activism with strong messages. Alpha Blondy’s first solo album, “Jah Glory”, was released in 1982, a project that told riveting tales of his police harassment encounters.
Alpha Blondy’s music became so widespread that people referred to him as “The Bob Marley of Africa”. One of his most popular songs is “Brigadier Sabari” from his debut album. The song gained so much traction as it was the first time a West African publicly admitted to police brutality. One thing was clear, Alpha Blondy had a powerful voice and he was determined to use it right.
Majek Fashek: The Spiritual African Reggae Legend
Majek Fashek was a popular Nigerian Reggae legend who people often referred to as “The Rainmaker” or “The Prophet”. Funny story, in 1987, Nigeria was facing one of its worst droughts ever recorded in history. Shortly after Majek Fashek released his hit song “Send Down The Rain”, the drought came to an end with a heavy downpour. Coincidence? People didn’t think so.
In 1989, “Send Down The Rain” won six PMAN awards for song of the year, album of the year, and reggae artist of the year. Whether people genuinely believed in him as a prophet, or as a singer, it was clear that Majek Fashek’s fan base was filled with loyal followers.
Tiken Jah Fakoly
This is another phenomenal Reggae legend from Ivory Coast. I think we can all agree that Ivorians have given us some of the biggest African Reggae legends. Tiken Jah Fakoly wanted his work to “wake up the consciences” as he put it. He remains one of the most outspoken Reggae artists to date.
His music resonated with a lot of oppressed Africans, and he soon became an enemy of the government. This caused Tiken Jah Fakoly to live in exile in Mali. The president of Senegal at the time, Abdoulaye Wade, went as far as declaring Tiken Jah Fakoly persona non grata. This was because of the open criticism he suffered from the African Reggae legend. This, however, did nothing to stop Tiken Jah Fakoly from pursuing his music and doing what he loved—using his voice to speak for the people.
Sasha Marley
Sasha Marley is a Ghanaian African Reggae legend with significant influence from icons like Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff. He faced his own fair share of criticism for using direct and seemingly vulgar words in his songs. On the contrary, Sasha wanted nothing more than to make music that was good and relatable to people, and he did just that.
Sasha Marley’s work gained him recognition from prestigious bodies like the Ghana Music Awards, Kora Music Awards, and the 610 Music Awards.
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