“Whether you’re black or white, gay or straight, we at Metro FM, we love you” – this was one of the imaging lines of South Africa’s legendary Metro FM (Radio Metro 1986-1994; since 1994) in the early 2000s.
As a millennial from an African city, I am one of those kids from the ‘hood who grew up with their grandmother while our mothers and fathers were finding their feet in the post-colony. A grandmother listening to the radio with her grandkids was our original social network—or radio school… My mom and dad also woke up with me to the radio. The stereo “suddenly on” at 6AM was the alarm as broadcasting was not yet 24-hours in the 1990s.
Most people are unaware that the pop radio format “Hits Parade → Hot 100” as we know it today began in Mozambique at LM Radio in 1936. In 1974, Bulawayo had a rocking station Radio Mthwakazi which was destroyed in 1980. We however listened to the new ZBC Radio 2 which emulated its UK brother, BBC Radio 2. ZBC Radio 3 rivalling BBC Radio 1 in the teenage market came along and was one of the world’s Top 5 stations at that time. Radio 3 was destroyed as well in the early 2000s. By then, I had already stopped listening to Zimbabwean radio and switched to South Africa’s Metro FM.
I was inspired to do radio by broadcasters like Otis ‘The Flow’ Fraser, Kevin ‘The Prince of the Airwaves’ Ncube, Peter Johns, Tsitsi ‘Queen of the Airwaves’ ‘Midmorning Cruise’ Mawarire, Eric Knight, Tymon ‘Tarzen T’ Makina, Nonceba Mnkandla, Tilda Moyo, Godfrey Gweje, Elsie Mojapelo, Busi Ndlovu, and THE Bothwell ‘Inhlupho Zalamuhla’ Bhethule who happened to one of my primary school teachers at Insukamini, he himself being father of fine broadcaster Khulekani ‘Khuxman’ Bhethule. There was not a single boring broadcaster in Zimbabwe before 2000. Ezra ‘Tshisa’ Sibanda’s Radio 2 breakfast would give rivals ZBC Radio 1’s Georgina Godwin and Radio 3’s Simon Parkinson a run for their money! I produced Ezra Tshisa’s New Year’s Eve into 2017 special One-Night Only return show with Babongile Sikhonjwa – the studio hotline was completely jammed!
I’ve had the pleasure of producing breakfast radio for the grandtimer of broadcasting, Luke Mnkandla, ‘Cool Luke [to colonial white Rhodesia]’ ‘Size 10 [to women…]’ ‘Umavula kuvaliwe (panty dropper)’, who paved the radio way for us in 1974!
Shout out to Zimbabwe’s exiled broadcasters at the Voice of America’s English to Africa service like Brenda ‘Nonsuku Zikhali’ Moyo, Praxedes Jeremiah and their colleagues Ndimyake Mwakalyelye, Ted ‘Uncle Ted’ ‘Nightline Africa’ Roberts and Rod Murray. The state would try to jam the VOA frequency from being heard.
South Africa gave me Thabo ‘T-Bose’ ‘T-Bose by Starlight’ ‘T-Bose by Starlight Sunday’ Mokwele whom I single out between 1999-2006 as being an absolute fucking genius at Black radio with Bambo ‘Nightpulse’ ‘The Most Expensive Lips on Radio’ Johnson (no, for real, expensive lips), Thabo ‘T-bo Touch’ ‘Rhyme & Reason’ Molefe, Penny Lebyane, Azania Mosaka [then-Ndoro], Glen Lewis and Unathi Nkayi closely behind him. Prior to that, South Africa’s legendary Radio BOP mass-poached Zimbabwe’s Bertha Charuma, George Munetsi, Tony ‘Tony D’ Ndoro, and Tich Mataz. Mataz is the original Ryan Seacrest, being the first black presenter at white South African radio inspiring a whole generation of post-colony South Africa to do radio. South Africa taught us that there is difference between black radio and white radio.
The Golden Age of Radio (2006-2013), which also happened to be the Golden Age of Pop and the Golden Age of EDM, saw me hooked on 5FM’s Gareth Cliff, DJ Fresh, Anele Mdoda, and the entire cast of that era. 5FM was one of the world’s Top 5 radio stations at that time sending BBC Radio 1, Netherlands 3FM (which has refused to evolve), Australia’s Triple J, and Z100 New York to shame! According to DJ Fresh, Zimbabwe once upon a time was the “God of Radio!”
SJ’s radio work
Zimbabwe: Radio Dialogue (2005-2008) – volunteer; Zwakala Zulu – community broadcasting research; newsletter editor; Youth Press founding chair; UMthwakazi Arts Festival; Radio Dialogue Gneral Council
Netherlands: NPO 3FM & NPO FunX’s Ghetto Radio (2007) – Zimbabwe correspondent for discovering the New Afro Beat. Ghetto Radio became an independent Kenya-based radio station
South Africa: Good Hope FM (2011) – EDM DJ-mix show guest production
South Africa: 5FM (2011-2013) – EDM DJ-mix show guest production
Zimbabwe: Skyz Metro FM (2015-2017) – program manager
Online: Dr. Love with Ezra ‘Tshisa’ Sibanda, Thursdays, 22:00 CAT/21:00 UK-BST, on Facebook Live (2024)
SJ also produces audio and radio consultancy.
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