By Martha MukaiwaHer sharp tongue got her into a whole lot of trouble at last year’s Namibian Annual Music Awards (Nama), the racy Chokola won her Best Dance Video at the 2008 Channel O Music Awards and with her sexy, sassy, spitfire of a persona on record for all to see, it was totally baffling that Lady May spent her time in Big Brother StarGame cooking, cleaning and confessing total vexation to Biggie.
Clearly cut from the cloth of an artist who can separate their stage and their social life, Lady May has been a polarising figure throughout StarGame. However, after the alternating adoration and aggravation, the little lass is eager to have her say about Lady May.
"People judge me based on my stage persona and I think they had strange expectations of me based on how I present myself in my work," says Lady May.
"They wonder how I have so much energy when I don’t take anything or drink." Famously averse to alcohol, to some, she may have come across as an utter bore whose cool collectedness acted as an inconvenient counterpoint to the eager-to-get-inebriated housemates.
"I don’t drink. It’s a life choice I made outside the house, but I can’t go door to door telling people who I am," says Lady May. "Being on Big Brother was me being me and schooling people about Lady May the person. It was an opportunity for people to see the person behind the stage persona, the human side. Actions speak louder than words and the truth was able to come out."
Quiet and contemplative, Lady May makes no bones about "being boring", but despite her self-confessed isolation, surprisingly, the lesson she believes she has learnt in the Big Brother house is tolerance.
"In my life, I am very strict about who gets close to me emotionally. I can hang out with anyone, but I don’t entertain everyone emotionally," says Lady May.
"In the house I definitely learned tolerance, because everyone has their own thing and it’s about respecting each other. I always felt that if I can put up with the other people’s things, then people can also put up with me."
Having been a big fan of the show and even auditioning once or twice, Lady May is proud to have been part of what she calls "a super genius concept", but feels great to be back home in the real world after having achieved something she has always wanted as part of her life’s journey.
"If you could look into my heart, I am so happy," says Lady May. "You really get an opportunity to know you. Now I even feel like I want to be around people more. It’s like you are transformed in that house … and there’s nothing wrong with that."
Ready and eager for all the opportunities that she knows will present themselves while itching to get started on her new album, Lady May describes her feeling as a mood of gratitude in which she feels and will forever feel indebted to her country.
"A big endless thank you," says Lady May incredulously. "I really felt my people had my back, that they were watching and that, hopefully, they were proud."
