Lady Du Shares Her Personal Struggle With Depression

Lady Du Shares Her Personal Struggle With Depression. This August, the Levi’s® I Shape My World campaign introduces Lady Du as she tells the story of her battles and finding her inner strength. Lady Du is an Amapiano vocalist and rapper, who boldly speaks to her life experiences through her music. Earlier this year, Levi’s® introduced Lunathi Mampofu’s story to the I Shape My World program, as she opened up about her near-death experience and the work she does through her non-profit, My Defense.

In the latest campaign film, directed by Ying-Poi De Lacy, Lady Du opens up about her music, being a woman in rap, and her personal struggle with depression. “In every song that I drop, it’s actually my life story. I don’t have a song that does not talk about my personal experience,” Lady Du explains. She goes on to say, “For me to get to where I am today, I had to pull myself out of a lot of things. I always try to show people that it does not matter what you go through. If you can actually take yourself out of it, you can be anything you want to be.”

In reflecting on her success and her journey, Lady Du adds, “I live my life the best way that I can and I try to help as many people as I can because I am living my purpose.”

On National Women’s Day (09 August) Lady Du hosted an event at Levi’s® Haus of Strauss Africa to launch her I Shape My World campaign. Guests were given the opportunity to spend the evening with Lady Du and watch a live performance, along with getting an exclusive preview of her I Shape My World film.

I Shape My World is a program that was created by the late Meeta Bharvani, Levi’s® Marketing Director, in March 2017 in recognition of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. The goal of the program was to elevate women’s voices and promote the power of the female collective – when women tell their stories and claim their achievements, it inspires other women to do the same, which moves the collective forward.  

The initiative grew to become a global campaign which transcends cultures, languages, and politics. It continues to resonate globally – and have an impact with consumers – because of the ubiquitous issue it is shining a light on.

I Shape My World is a direct extension of the values of the Levi’s® brand and personifies the concept of “using your voice” for positive change. The fact that one woman from India can spark a global movement within a corporation is an important story to tell.