AS a child, Matome Sekuba was a quiet little girl, but today she can be heard loud and clear on Thobela FM.
She hosts Tša Borena on Sundays. She grew up watching dinaka, the traditional Pedi dance for men, and sekomoti, the Pedi traditional dance for women.
Now her show encourages artists to record songs in their mother tongue.
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“My show is not only about traditional music. I also play Afro pop, jazz and R&B that is sung in Pedi,” said Matome (30) who is better known as Kgoshigadi of the airwaves.
Her show has a popular feature where she plays and interview artists every last Sunday of the month.
“I give them a platform to play their music while introducing them to a mass audience.”
Matome said her burning desire for songs sung in Pedi has led her to preserve them for future generations.
Born in Mohodi Ga Manthata Village in Mogwadi, Limpopo, Matome started her radio career on Mohodi FM in 2014, where she hosted the afternoon drive show.
Later, she joined Turf FM to host the afternoon drive show, Route 236.
She studied BA communication science at Unisa aiming to be a spokeswoman for a government department, but radio kept calling her back. Matome said Thobela FM has helped her unlock the complex linguistic make-up of the language.
“My spoken language has grown. I can proudly say I became well-equipped with a better vocabulary,” said Matome.
She won best Sepedi presenter of the year at the Sepedi Music Awards last year.
She was also nominated for the Safta award for best traditional radio presenter and nominated for best traditional radio show.
“This was confirmation that I’m growing as a radio artist.
“Someone is recognising the job I’m doing about my language and our traditional music,” she said.
