Lady Zamar On African Artists Being Teased For Sounding ‘American’
Lady Zamar says her good English doesn't mean she sounds American
One of the most loved musical successes in SA Lady Zamar has expressed her views on African artists being blamed for sounding too American.
“We praise America for being more African but we continue to criticise African artists for being more western. Why is there a bias? Let the standard being the same. Are you glorifying America and not your home country? Would it not be a bigger accomplishment if a South African artist was able to make it in America without having to exploit African tradition?”
Lady Zamar also went on to clap back on accusations that she attempts to sound American a lot.
“A lot of people say that I am trying to sound American, but I always want to ask them if they have ever been to America and if that is really what Americans sound like? America is a big place with a lot of accents. How can you say I am trying to sound American when all you know is television English? Are you saying that just because I speak English well, that I am trying to be American? Speaking English doesn’t mean I am trying to be American. It upsets me,” she told TshisaLIVE.
The Love Is Blind hitmaker also revealed that there was a point in her life where she forgot who she was because she was trying too hard to fit into the mould the industry had carved for her.
“I realised that I was no longer doing the things that I enjoyed doing. I was trying to hard to please people. With that I started comparing myself to others and I became miserable. I had to get away and return home to find the joy that serves as the inspiration for my music. It was a rough journey but I had to be more me.”
