Musician Toya Delazy is branching out into a new creative endeavor. She says she will be writing a book called 'What Happened to Toya DeLazy?In a long social media post, Toya has hinted that it will be a memoir that delves into her life and experiences as a musician with a similar contract to that of the late multi-awards winning singer Zahara. Toya signed a two-album record deal with Sony Music Africa in 2011 but she left the recording label in 2016 and went independent.
A TELL-ALL
"I decided it's time for me to write my book - after the tragic loss of sis Zahara, I saw the type of music deal she was signed to and I realised that it was like mine. I mentioned this, and it brought on a huge discussion on Twitter, with some people saying, anyway, my grandpa is rich, so I am fine. It made me realise that none of you know my story or my journey, I never had anything handed to me. I was squatting through university and had no one to pay my school fees often; people think your proximity to money makes you wealthy, and getting through the South African music industry alive was one of the biggest learning curves of my life," she wrote. She added that the book will also touch on fighting depression, using alcohol to cope, and eventually finding deep healing while fighting rejection.
'INDEPENDENT ARTISTS NEEDS SUPPORTng'
She also revealed that her book would touch on how she was mocked when everyone thought she was down. "I regret nothing, everything that has happened has taught me so much and I feel very lucky that I found another part of the world to appreciate my talent," she said, adding that she won Newcomer of the Year in the UK last week! "We independent artists need your support, going independent doesn't mean you have lost your talent, sometimes we have to get out of deals that are no longer sustainable for us but because the industry turns its back on us as they don't want to mess up their bag with the major label by supporting you, the fans think you're less talented cause you no longer on mainstream media, it's not always easy to find your feet, most of the artists that have been in my position died," she said. She added that she felt fortunate to be here still pushing independently through Delazy Entertainment and Afrorave Ltd. "I'm still winning as an independent, if the public and fans can be genuine and support me like they did when I was with a major being independent would be a natural progression," she concluded.
