Musos in shock over Lulu’s passing

Johannesburg - Messages of support continue to pour in for soul songstress Lulu Dikana, who passed away on Wednesday after a short illness.

Members of the South African music industry expressed their shock and sadness at losing the rising star who had just released a new album, I Came To Love.

“I am in total disbelief. She was a beautiful soul, an amazing singer and songwriter,” said jazz sensation, Swazi Dlamini. “I love how she loved her art as well as her unashamed declaration of her love for God. She left us at her prime and she will be sorely missed.”

Dikana is survived by sisters Asanda and Zonke, and a 15-year-old son. They tragically lost their eldest sister, Busisiwe, last May. The Dikana sisters were born to famous drummer, Vuyisile Viva Dikana, who died in 2009.

“I never worked with Lulu but I knew just how talented she was and I hoped to work with her,” said neo-soul artist and rapper Kabomo Vilakazi. Given that the singing Dikana sisters were very close, Vilakazi got to meet Lulu while working on a song with Zonke.

“Lulu tagged along and as we were working she offered some pointers and even sang in parts. I was blown away by her talent. It was incredible and I made it obvious that I wanted to work with her. By the time she released her first album I was ready to receive it because I was a fan,” he recalled.

Like Dlamini, Vilakazi added that Lulu set herself apart from the rest through the type of music that she decided to make.

“We work in an industry that makes it almost impossible to speak about your love for God. What I loved about Lulu is that her music was unapologetic about her Christian faith.

She made funky soulful music which was embedded with good values and a lot of people did not know she was singing about God in most cases. She made it cool to be Christian,” said Vilakazi.

Another songstress who admired Lulu’s work was Wanda Baloyi. The two had been label mates at Universal Music and they appreciated each other’s work.

“I respected that she wasn’t afraid to sing about her love for God. Her song Life & Death is a gospel song that is made cleverly to sound like a regular track. She always believed in her sound and with the pressures of her sister being Zonke, she never felt the need to compete. She stayed in her lane,” said Baloyi.

Their paths crossed when Baloyi stumbled upon Lulu’s album, which Baloyi loved and sought to pursue.

“When I first heard her song Life & Death I wondered who the person with the amazing voice was. I really loved it and the funny thing is while I was looking for her, people kept calling me asking if it was me on the record.

When I finally found out who was behind her album, a producer called Jewel, I asked him to work on my project. Thanks to Lulu’s album I achieved the sound I had been meaning to and Jewel did wonders on my album,” she said.

Veteran singer and actress Thembi Seete, who lost fellow Boom Shaka member Lebo Mathosa a few years ago, was also sad to hear of Lulu’s sudden passing and it brought back sad memories for her.

“You don’t see these things coming and it is a shock when they do. It’s more painful when there are no signs whatsoever,” she said.

Apart from an incredible show that Lulu gave at the recent John Legend All Of Me tour, the Falling Deeper singer had also recently given an incredible performance on Metro FM’s Paul Mtirara’s show, Castle Milksout Unplugged Sunday.

“I can’t begin to describe the loss. After losing Eddie (Zondi), I have learnt that dealing with loss takes more than a few months. It’s worse if you are sisters so I can’t imagine the pain Zonke is going through.

“One thing I know about Zonke, though, is that she will rely on music for her healing,” said the DJ.

Funeral details have not been finalised.

Independent Media

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