and ambitious lady. She definitely inspired me and that’s where I get my drive from. My dad is the laid-back, placid guy and that’s my character overall. I don’t let things bother me. I’m hard to wind up. I’d rather chill and hang with my friends.’
Lemar resonates cool off-camera too. He doesn’t appear to be quite the rock n’ roller you’d expect for such a successful pop star. ‘People are unaware of how much you have to deal with mentally when you’re in the public eye,’ he says. ‘Everything is at your disposal. Until you have access to excess you don’t know who you are. It can throw you over the edge.’
Fatherhood has been a huge turning point in his life – more than he could have possibly imaged. ‘It’s funny,’ he says, ‘until you have a child you are unknowingly quite selfish because life is just about you. Now you actually have something in your life you genuinely care about more than
“People are unaware of how much you have to deal with mentally”
yourself. The whole process has affected me as a person as well as my drive. I’m far more focused now.’
Take on board constructive criticism. If you’re good enough and you keep putting yourself out there, then your break will undoubtedly come.’
Citing a long line of soul greats in his list of musical inspirations and pioneers such as Michael Jackson, Bonnie Hathaway, Marvin Gaye and Boys II Men, Lemar reveals that it’s not easy to spot the next big thing.
‘I don’t think you can ever really know who’s going to end up on top or who’s going to have longevity. Being a pioneer is about starting something and finishing it. That’s what sets people apart. If you think about the artists around right now, there are
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very few that have the same pulling power as Michael Jackson. There are a handful such as Lady Gaga, Usher and Mary J. Blige, but it’s not like before when there was an abundance of megastars. We need to make sure there are still artists around who understand their craft and their skill so that we can keep the bar raised as high as it can possibly go and continue to make good music. That’s so important.”
Coming from working class roots in Tottenham, Lemar cites his parents as the main inspiration behind his success. ‘In terms of life inspirations, I would have to look closer to home. My mum is an extremely determined
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In November the Coming Home singer joined Mary J Blige on her forthcoming UK tour and is also set to open for Enrique Iglesias on the UK part of his Euphoria tour next year. The singer also hinted that a few TV projects were also in the pipeline. As his workload is set to increase and the buzz around the UK soul star gains momentum once again, Lemar considers the kind of legacy he’d like to leave behind. ‘I’d like to leave a great body of good work that people can listen to and I want to continue to inspire people musically. When you put out music, you subconsciously inspire the next generation, so it’s important to keep the bar as high as possible.’
www.lemar-online.com
Words by Toya Berry
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