Lady Zamar releases My Heritage in Music playlist

South Africa is an absolute melting pot of culture and traditions, but the one thing we all have in common is our deep love of music. "Music is the only thing that can really change a person from the inside," Lady Zamar says. With a music catalogue including hits such as ‘Collide’, ‘Love Is Blind’ and ‘Criminal’, the songstress has fast become a national treasure.

What does music heritage mean to you and what role has music played in your heritage?

LADY ZAMAR: Music heritage is the history that makes up who I am and the teams that have made up my life. I have always been a person who loves playing music. For every emotion, every time, and every memory there is a song that attached to that, that has helped me grow as a person and deal with things. So, music has played a really big part in making sure I am where I am.       

 What is your first significant music memory?

It has to be the first time I sang in church. I was about 11 years old. My little sister and I remember I was so scared in front of people. At that time it looked like a really really big crowd and that definitely was the most significant memory I had as a kid.      

Are there any specific people in your family that you can attribute your love for music to?

My entire family. My dad absolutely loved singing and being our vocal coach and tutor. My mum loved family worship and whenever she had those, she would have us singing hymn notes and my dad was very particular about how you would sing. He would always put us in musicals and always insisted that we watch musical shows.

I remember watching The Phantom of the Opera. It was a three-hour show and I was moved beyond. My little sister helped groom me; she groomed me a lot. Till this point she still continues and contributes a lot to my music. My older sister and I used to sing together in church. My little brother is a producer, so yeah, basically the entire family.        

What artists or songs are ingrained in your upbringing?

'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' it is a song by Smokie. My dad used to sing it all the time and there is also a song by Celine Dion, 'I Drove All Night'. My dad is a bit of an unknown man. He travelled a lot so whenever he travelled, driving for so many hours, it would always be something he would play. 'I drove all night to get to you'. As a child I knew, when that song goes on we were preparing for a very long trip. Those songs are really ingrained. I think there was also a lot of Boney M, Lucky Dube, Brenda Fassie, Enrique Iglesias. For me there was a lot of Dolly Parton and Jim Reeves as well ingrained in my past and upbringing.     

What power do you believe music has to affect change?

Music is the only thing that can really change a person from the inside. It is also important to watch what you listen to and as a person making music, I make sure that the things I put out there are positive things that will help people instead of making them feel worse about their lives. Music helps you without you realising it; music has the power to make you happy or to elevate a bad mood. Music also is something that you can attach to a memory and a person.               

If you could go back in time and watch any concert, who would you go to see?

I would go see Adele. I think she was and is amazing till today, of course because she is so young still. So yes, if I could watch her I would. But if we talk about the past before my time, I think I would go see Tina Turner and Michael Jackson. They were amazing musicians and performers. 

How does a typical family gathering look for you? 

It is always very, very strange when I meet with my family. Half of the time I feel like I am discovering new members of the family, re-establishing old connections. My entire family loves talking. When you're around them it always feels like there is a war, but actually it is just a lot of love, people shouting, people discussing and laughing the whole time.

What foods are close to home and what tracks will the fam be fighting over?

Foods close to home would be pap, spinach, fish and chicken. Those are things that my family absolutely love, and there is this weird thing that started recently: garlic bread. There has to be a garlic loaf somewhere. So those are foods that are really close. I personally love tea and I feel like tea is the one thing in our family that we all have in common.

These days they play a lot of gospel so those are the kind of songs we would be listening to. I think music has changed within our family. At one point we used to listen to a lot of blues, soul, reggae and country but now it’s just a lot of gospel.     

Listen to Lady Zamar My Heritage in Music playlist on Deezer.