Sjava: Fame has caused a lot of problems between me and my partner
Image: Gallo Images/Oupa Bopape
While Mzansi is still shocked by the fact that Sjava and Lady Zamar were a thing for two years and broke up last month - all under wraps - TshisaLIVE had the unique chance to chat to Sjava about his approach to relationships and the strain fame puts on them.
Prior to his and Lady Zamar's revelation, the Ngempela hitmaker spoke to TshisaLIVE about all things music, passion, international recognition, fame and navigating romance and relationships.
The 34-year-old musician said he's thought about marriage and settling down, but hasn't found a way to make it work, on account of his career.
"Yes, I was thinking about it (marriage) but now because of this fame thing, there's now a lot of things to consider. It (fame) has caused a lot of problems between me and my partner."
"For example, if I say, 'guys I can't come for the interview because I promised my girl a date', you guys will be angry and think I'm unprofessional. If I cancel the date and go to interviews, she'll be mad and not understand. So now, either way, I'm a bad guy. All those things take something away from me as a person but you will never see that. But at the end of the day, it is what it is."
Sjava explained that fame for him had come with a lot of sacrifices and that it was a constant battle of trying to balance work and life.
For him, honouring his talent and making sure his mother has food on the table, couldn't take the backseat to love.
"There's a lot of things that happen behind closed doors. On the outside people don't know that my career may be going well but the side effect (fame) means my life is not going as well. That's why if you look at many relationships of people in the public eye, they hardly ever work out. It is because of the strain (of fame)."