Lungisa Dikana, (18 December 1978 – 3 December 2014), was a South African recording artist and vocalist. Her music career shot to limelight in 2008 following the release of her debut album '' My Diary, My Thoughts''. She died on 3 December 2014 after a short illness.

Life and career

Born into a musical family in Kwazakhele, a small town in

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

, Lulu began singing as a chorister in her local church at the age of 15. Her father, Vuyiselie Dikana was a drummer for a band known as "Black Slave and the Flamingo". An alumna of

Fort Hare University The University of Fort Hare is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to students from across sub ...

where she studied Law, Lulu released her debut album titled '' My Diary, My Thoughts'' in 2008 produced by Nigerian-born music producer Wilson Joel . The album contained hit tracks like "Real Love" and "Life and Death". Following the success of her debut album, Lulu began working on her second album '' This Is the Life''. The album was released in 2011 and went on to be nominated in three categories at the 2013 Metro FM Music Awards and "Best R&B/Soul/Reggae Album" category at the 19th South African Music Awards. In October 2014, she released '' I Came To Love'', her third studio album which earned her three nomination spots at the

21st South African Music Awards The 21st Annual South African Music Awards were announced during a gala event at Sun City's Super Bowl arena in the North West province on Sunday night, 19 April 2015. It was branded as #SAMAXXI, where XXI represents the Roman numerals for 21. Wi ...

Death

In 2009, Lulu was diagnosed of oesophageal perforation and underwent five oesophagus operations. On 3 December 2014, she died in a hospital in South Africa after a short illness.

Discography

* ''My Diary, My Thoughts'' * ''This Is The Life'' * ''I Came to Love''

Awards and nominations

Personal life

Until her death, Lulu was a born-again Christian and devoted to God. She was committed to the works of God and took going to church serious. She is the older sister of

Zonke Zonke Dikana (born 11 October 1979), known simply as Zonke, is a South African singer-songwriter and record producer. Her rise to stardom came in 2011 following the release of her third album, ''Ina Ethe'', which was certified double platinum and ...

, a South African singer-songwriter and record producer. She had a son before her death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dikana, Lulu 1978 births 2014 deaths 21st-century South African women singers People from the Eastern Cape South African rhythm and blues musicians South African pop singers