Lady Zamar: I became angry when I was told that I wasn’t a real artist

Despite topping the charts with her hits, Lady Zamar's musical abilities have often been questioned by critics, which has left her angry and frustrated.

Lady Zamar has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry over the course of her short career but told TshisaLIVE she was sometimes accused of not being a real musician.

"The most difficult people to deal with are those who believe that I am not a musician. I get it a lot. I became angry when I was told that I wasn't a real musician. In actual fact, I have screengrabs of telephone conversations, which I have emailed to myself, to remind myself that this is what this person thinks of me.

"It is the hardest thing, when you work with a person and give 100% and they turn around and say to you that he does not think you are a real musician, and tells you that you do not know anything about music. I don't care whether people are arrogant or think that I am arrogant but don't disrespect my artistic value," Lady Zamar said.

She revealed that she often also got angry when people accused her of lip-syncing on stage, to the point that she felt compelled to prove herself to the fans by singing some of her sets acoustically.

"I always feel like I need to respond to critics of my music because I put a lot of work into my music. I feel very offended when people accuse me of not doing enough. My friends are my best support structure. They always tell me that it's not that bad and I should ignore it," she added.

Despite this, Lady Zamar said she was humbled by her army of followers which seems to be growing by the day.

More than anything, the musician wants her fans to know that despite topping the charts with hit after hit, she is just a normal person. That is why she is currently filming a documentary about her life.

"I feel like there is a big divide between artists and their fans. Fans say things about musicians but they don't know what is happening behind closed doors. I want to show them that. I want them to get to know me when I am performing, when I am angry, when I am on the road. There is a lot of crazy things, it's not all glitz and glamour," she said 

The documentary, which will be filmed by several production teams and woven together, is set for release by the end of the year.

It's all part of building a legacy as one of the biggest stars in South Africa and proving that she is not only a real musician, but is also here to stay.