- He’s many things in the entertainment industry but it’s radio that gains dominance for Sabelo “Sabby, ” Mtshali.
- His career has continued to grow after joining Metro FM in 2020.
- The multi-award-winning radio jock tells us all about his new Metro FM show, and his journey in radio.
I was with my wife, having lunch, when word got out of the Metro FM line-up. She had just seen Phil Mphela’s tweet and started reading the commentary.
Then the official press release came out and my phone immediately started buzzing with congratulatory messages.
From the time I had my meeting with management and keeping things a secret, I had mentally prepared myself for when the news came out. Of course, the brain anticipated the negative and prepared for what the naysayers would spew.
But, oh man, it was the opposite. I received so much love and magnitudes of positive energy, with everyone being excited for me. I think the love comes from everyone knowing my story and how my journey started at Metro FM, as well as bearing witness to my hard work.
I established a name for myself as the afternoon drive host at YFM but left to join Metro to host a show on Saturdays with the station’s Top 40. A lot of people didn’t understand the logic behind that but I had a vision and understood it had to start somewhere in order to come into fruition.
Not even two years in and I’ve moved so much within the station – within a year on Top 40, I moved on to the weekday 9:00 to 12:00 slot and now breakfast. I’m present in the moment, aware of how massive this is and how it’s going to need a different mindset from me.
I had no anticipation of moving to the breakfast slot so quickly. I joined Metro FM in 2020. Going into that meeting, I honestly thought I was still going to be doing The Bridge and they were going to perhaps tell me that I would be getting a co-host.
I had pre-empted that maybe in 2024, I would be doing one of the drive-time shows but this year, hell no! At first I thought they meant the Saturday breakfast show but when they said weekday, I started tearing up.
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I gave management a handshake, said thank you and told them I was ready. I come from a home where I’ve always been taught about patience. My mom has always conditioned me that as much as you want something to happen, it won’t be in your own time.
So, seeing how hard she had to work to acquire certain things, I got the chance to see it. The older I got, I started realising that she wasn’t lying. She was saying that from a good place and not trying to kill my dreams. When I got into this business, I quickly had to learn how much of a marathon it is.
At some point in my career it felt as if the people I had started the journey with were moving further and quicker than me. The 'aha' moment now is that I had to understand that our paths are different and I needed to learn a few things so that when things took shape, I would be ready.
The biggest loser is the hustler who gets comfortable when they get the gig. I’m ready to work that much harder. My radio career began at the Mandeni, KZN Love Life Y Centre in 2004. Like all other townships, mine wasn’t any different.
When Love Life came, it introduced another world. Mind you the colour of the place was purple, so you just couldn’t ignore it. It was a great space for the youth with basketball, netball and other sporting codes. I’d jokingly do commentary while they were playing basketball.
One of the managers noticed this and asked that I audition for the radio programme. I thought he was being ridiculous; why would I go into a room and talk by myself? I told my friend about it and her response was: “Sabby, you talk a lot, go for it.”
I did and the outcome was me doing a one-hour show every Friday. The centre got a broadcasting license at the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), which is when the bug bit me because now we had a bigger radius to cover.
I told my mom I wanted to do radio and she was supportive, but she unfortunately had a stroke and my dad had already passed away. When I told one of my uncles, he said: “you want to waste money learning how to talk.” That was demotivating but things started to flow.
After matric I got a loan, moved to Johannesburg and did a one-year radio production course at the National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa. I got my break in 2009 with KFM in Cape Town but I didn’t like the city so I jumped ship to Highveld Stereo (now 947) in 2010.
The station did not give me enough airtime so I left and joined the Y Academy internship programme. I spent 10 years at YFM and also got a chance to do some work with UK’s BBC Sounds 1Xtra. Taking a global stance on radio is also one of my goals. I want to Trevor Noah this radio thing.
I was the first man to host the 9:00 to 12:00 slot in 25 years at Metro FM. On my first day I called Isaac Phaahla, who was the last guy to host it. He gave me on-air tips of things that worked for him on how to execute and shine. I took all that in and hit the ground running and I had an amazing team backing me up in Kgopedi Lilokoe (news), Thato Mataboge (content producer) and The Naked DJ (technical producer).
The Bridge taught me that less is more, music is truly king and your personality as a DJ ties everything together. That was my cheat code for the success of the show. Ask A Man made me realise that most of us struggle to communicate in relationships. We get comfortable with the idea that the other person is here and because of that, I no longer need to court them or do the things I used to do at the beginning.
It reminded me that you still had to do all the efforts you used to when the relationship started. As a couple, you have to find a common ground with what you believe in to make it work.
I got married last year, and there is a difference between being a boyfriend and husband. As a boyfriend I can still leave as I’m not tied down. I also don’t owe you much; my responsibilities to you are different. You think I have to do certain things for you but I don’t.
Yet there are things about being a boyfriend that don’t end when I become your husband, such as date nights. On the other hand, once I became a husband, I basically told your family that I got you for life. I vowed to my wife’s family that I had taken their daughter and invited her over to mine. I’ve reassured her father that they don’t have to worry about her.
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As my wife, every single thing about you matters to me and I care about your well-being. It’s not just a commitment to the government to say that you are my official partner, but also to God and a pledge that we are doing life together.
Marriage is a soul tie; I can’t just wake up and leave. When we have challenges we talk about them and work things out. My father passed away when I was 10 years old. I’ve made a plea with God to at least see my son get to age 11 if He wants to take me sooner in life.
My son’s life is different from mine as he doesn’t have to worry about most things I did when I was his age – and that makes me happy. I became a dad at 27, and I never wanted to be that dad who saw his child on weekends or fought with my baby momma. I also never wanted to have a child with someone I didn’t want to be with.
Luckily, my wife and I both wanted a child at the time. Should there ever be a “Sabby FM” in the future, these are the DJs I’d have on my line-up. I grew up loving Linda Sibiya so he’s at the top.
I’ve always loved what Ryan Seacrest has been able to create. He started out in radio and as much as he’s grown on TV, he took radio to hospitals, opening up studios that allowed kids to escape their sickness. Former 5FM host Nicole Fox is the goat of goats. Lady D on Ukhozi FM is also great.
Koula Budler on 5FM ate that Top 40 chart show in her time, and then there’s Azania Mosaka and Phindi Gule. I’m a fan of Anele Mdoda because she’s a beast in her own right while Thando Thabethe is unmatched. There’s also a new generation of radio jocks like Zanele Potelwa and Andy Maqondwana, who are phenomenal.
I have the top three people that I find intriguing and would love to have as guests on my show. Andrew Tate came out of nowhere. He blew up because of social media and represented a world that some may see as toxic. I would like to sit down with him and ask a whole lot of questions.
I’d also like to sit down with Wendy Williams; she’s a radio superstar. I think she has a story to tell that I would like to unpack. American radio host Howard Stern is a guy I look up to; he’s figured out how to have the business side of radio work for him and kept a radio career for over three decades.
