Lady Zamar

A singer and songwriter with a warm, nimble vocal delivery, Lady Zamar came up through the Pretoria, South Africa hip-hop scene, eventually making her name on the nation’s dance charts with house music, including collaborations with DJs such as Prince Kaybee, Junior Taurus, and DJ Mshega. Her first solo album, King Zamar, saw release in 2017 and became a multi-platinum hit.
Born Yamikani Janet Banda in Tembisa, South Africa and raised outside of Pretoria, Lady Zamar started singing at the age of six. Calling herself Afro Jay, she later took part in ciphers with other aspiring hip-hop artists around the city. She met dance artist/producer Junior Taurus in the early 2010s, and in 2015, they collaborated on the album Cotton Candy, released by CapCity Records that October. Singles including the title track found mainstream radio play and brought Lady Zamar to the attention of a broader audience.
In March 2017, Lady Zamar made her full-length solo debut on Universal with King Zamar. Later the same year, she hit the charts with her featured spot on “Charlotte,” a song she wrote for Prince Kaybee. Meanwhile, King Zamar was certified gold before its one-year anniversary and achieved double-platinum status shortly before the arrival of her second long-player, Monarch, in July 2019. That year, she appeared as a guest judge on the TV singing competition Idols South Africa. ~ Marcy Donelson