Amapiano hitmaker Duduzile Ngwenya, popularly known as Lady Du, and by her famous intro line, “Wah Wah” released an official statement from her legal team announcing that she had finally terminated her contract with her former management last night.
The vocalist and songwriter had mentioned on many occasions that she isn’t only a musician but also a business mind and we only expect great business decision-making from her. This was right after a video of her walking around a warehouse circulated on Instagram showing that this superstar doesn’t only thrive in the studio and on stage but in the corporate space as well.
Lady Du’s team took to Instagram and shared in a legal statement that, “after a prolonged deterioration of the relationship with her management team, Duduzile Ngwenya (professionally known as Lady Du) has terminated her mandate with Managed x Thabiso (PTY) Ltd.”
The statement continues to read, “As of 2 April 2022, Lady Du will no longer be managed or represented by Managed x Thabiso (PTY) Ltd and/or its representatives.” She continued to show gratitude for the support from her friends, family, fans, and industry colleagues, especially during this period and promised to continue building her entertainment career.
This is not the first time Lady Du complains about her management team putting her through emotional drainage. The uZuma Yistar songmaker had mentioned in the past that she curses the day she signed her management contract and alleged that the management team had been blocking her from booking gigs by, “tell[ing] people that I am not available for bookings.”
In an initial statement posted on her Instagram account, the singer told fans and followers that she does not get paid on time, “mind you I don’t work for him, he gets paid off my bookings!! Has started taking cash from promoters I’m in hell guys I’ve been crying every day nje.” She wrote about her manager.
From what we know, the main reason behind Lady Du dropping her management and from the sound and tonality of the statement is because of ill-treatment and bossing of the talent, delayed payments, and possible financial fraud. It is no secret that the Amapiano vocalist and Managed x Thabiso are parting ways on a sour note.
On her Instagram where she shared the statement, the caption read, “Free at last. Many thanks to the Tailor Made Legal Solutions team for their assistance in freeing me from this situation that has stolen so much of my joy over the [past couple of months.” She continued in closing, “I cannot wait to start a new chapter and take my career to new heights.”
We might not know the core reason behind this relationship ending but from the use of the word “stolen”, one may speculate that the management team might have stolen funds from the artist - a common adversity that many artists endure in South Africa from their management teams.
Many other artists have parted ways with their management team and representatives in the past year alone including the most popular management feud between Media personality Bonang Matheba who shared in a short Twitter space that she had parted ways with her long time representative team CA SA following possible misconduct and corruption by the company with her finances. CA SA killed these allegations and accused Bonang of neglecting her contractual duties during her long stay in New York.
Lady Du is yet to announce and officialize her new management team but right now she is taking any performance, media, and branding inquiries through Bookings Pro Africa with their contact information on her Instagram page.
