Last month, award-winning radio presenter Sabelo Mtshali, better known as DJ Sabby, took the helm of one of radio’s biggest slots as host of Metro FM’s breakfast show, “Best Mornings”.
DJ Sabby joined the public broadcaster in 2021 as the host of the weekend show “Metro FM Top 40”, which was later renamed the “Metro FM Top 30”.
Within a year, he moved to weekday radio, when he was announced as the host of the popular mid-morning show “The Bridge” after Dineo Ranaka’s exit from the station.
When asked if this was part of the plan, Sabby replied: “The strategy is to always consistently deliver and never get complacent.”
Taking on different time slots helped the radio presenter adapt as he took into consideration the listeners and the history of a timeslot. And this helped the DJ excel in the new challenges.
As someone who eats, sleeps and breathes radio, Sabby has become a scholar of the platform. Always looking to gain knowledge about its development in the international market and the future of radio.
“I’m a true believer in consistently educating and equipping yourself in the line of work that you are in. So that when the opportunity presents itself you don’t have to say I’m not ready.
“I was ready two to three years ago but God works in the way He works. He said, ‘I know you ready, I know you think you are ready. But I will give you the keys to join the station that is Metro FM and in two years, I will give you what you want’.”
Sabby says that this worked out well for him as he has shown his strength as a broadcaster. As such, he ascended the ranks to the number one show on the station and got bumped to handling prime slots.
There is a recurring pattern with Sabby’s show titles with “best” being a common theme: “The Best Drive”, “The Best Mornings” and “The Best Thing Ever”.
“The name is synonymous with who I am, it’s Sabby, ‘the best thing ever’. I feel it sets the tone in everything I do and try to put it there, so it kind of aligns with how I truly am, so you don’t have to think about who’s doing what, it kind of answers itself.
“It kind of sets an expectation of what you’re going to get and also sets a standard for myself of what I’m going to deliver, the best or nothing.”
Working at Metro FM is no small feat, nine provinces and a breakfast slot at that, it is quite the task and has been helmed by top radio voices such as DJ Fresh (Thato Sikwane) and Mo Flava (Moeti Tsiki).
“The key thing is consistency and for me for the next 12 months, it is consistent. Keeping up with the promise of the name of the show. That I am promising you the start of the day is going to be the best moment.
“Because once your breakfast is locked in, there’s a part of you that believes that it’s going to be an amazing day.
“That’s the key thing that I want to consistently, you know, deliver to the listeners to ensure that I end up having the biggest breakfast show in the country.
“You can never take away the drama and I’m not one of those people who pre-empt negativity because it takes away from the moment. The moment is now and I am doing the breakfast show.”
Radio is Sabby’s main focus this year, aside from boosting the breakfast show’s listenership, is to, hopefully, do more TV on a bigger scale and show people that there is more to him.