The music industry is filled with fame-hungry talents that quit when careers take too long to blossom. The long road to success did not stop Duduzile "Lady Du" Ngwenya from reaching her dreams.
The amapiano artist spent 15 years experimenting with different music genres with the hope of finding one that would suit her personality.
The Vosloorus-born artist started her music career under the wing of her father, DJ Choc, at the age of 10. At the time, she was celebrated as the youngest R&B artist in Mzansi.
"I would see my dad clean his equipment in preparation for his gigs and it sparked interest in me. I sometimes used his equipment to mimic what I usually saw him do.
"My dad realised my interest and started teaching me his work when I was nine," she said.
But the clubs were not a good place for a child to hang out. Even with her excitement to perform behind the decks, she realised that the nightlife was dominated by older people who did not share her interests, apart from her skills.
She then took a break from late-night performances to focus on school, while keeping an eye on her grandfather and singer Elias Ngwenya, uncle DJ Zan D and her father to enrich her musical skills.
Ngwenya spent her tertiary years studying somatology at a London university and worked as a somatologist and skin therapist before returning to South Africa in 2012.