The South Africa musical world was in mourning Thursday after the murder of "reggae king" Lucky Dube, who was shot dead in an attempted carjacking in Johannesburg. The murder was carried out by two or three youths who seemingly gave no warning and made no demands. Dube tried to drive away, but lost control of his grey Chrysler and crashed into a tree. His son, who had just got out of the car, ran for help. His 16-year old daughter, who was also in the vehicle, was unharmed. The poet and fellow musician, Mzwakhe Mbuli, who was present at the scene of the killing, was distraught: "Shattered, shattered, seeing Lucky Dube's lifeless body was something else. Lucky is gone, someone who was not sick, who was healthy is gone. People used a finger to pull a trigger to just blow his life away in front of his children. We are meant to be marketing the country for [the World Cup in] 2010. What is this, what are we saying?" Dube's killing follows the murder in downtown Johannesburg of the famous bass guitarist, Gito Baloi. He was killed in similar circumstances in April 2004. The killers took Baloi's wallet after shooting him through the window of his car. The head of the Gallo music group, Ivor Haarburger, was among the first to pay tribute to Dube. Describing the murdered star as the best reggae performer in the world, he said Dube was even more famous internationally than in South Africa. "He was huge," said Mr Haarburger. "He could draw 40,000 to 50,000 to a concert." Aged 43, Dube was born in a township outside the small mining town of Ermelo. He was named "Lucky" because he was considered fortunate to have survived ill heath as a child. He started his musical career as a traditional musician in 1979 and switched to reggae in 1984, cutting more than 20 albums and winning numerous musical awards. South Africa is considered the murder capital of the world, with some 20,000 murders committed each year nationwide, and the centre of Johannesburg is probably the most dangerous part of the country. Stunned fans crowded South Africa's airwaves on chat shows to express their grief and anger, and issue demands for the restoration of the death penalty. Source: Guardian