Lady Zamar and Nadia Nakai on being unappreciated in SA

Lady Zamar and Nadia Nakai have lifted the lid on the entertainment industry, claiming  their music is not appreciated enough in SA until it becomes a hit overseas.

The pair sat down for a chat on Lady Zamar's Instagram Live this week, and spoke about fame and life as an artist during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lady Zamar shared her frustration about not being taken seriously, saying her song Collide only became a massive hit in SA after it became popular overseas.

“My listenership ranges from America to the UK and Botswana. Everyone outside the country will appreciate my music. With Collide, the reason it became a big song in SA was because it was a big song outside the country first. Then they jumped on. Now that it is number one in another country, you want to jump on it?” she said, adding that SA radio stations had raised issues with it until it blew up elsewhere.

Nadia said her music would probably be better received if she was male.

“I learnt that people are not ready to hear female narratives. They are really not ready. They will be  excited to hear a male artists' album, and there will be a whole lot of vibe. With my album, I didn't feel that. I felt like they didn't feel they could relate..”

Speaking to TshisaLIVE last year, Nadia said she had to work harder than male rappers to be heard, but her frustration extended to beyond the genre.

“In this industry, obviously women have to work harder, but for me the issue is the inequality of rappers in the industry holistically. The one thing that really sucks is that no matter who you are, or what you have accomplished, you constantly have to defend yourself. You have to blow your own horn or no-one listens. I feel like it is not like that for other genres as much. It is so sad.”