Azania Mosaka has boldly gone where very few radio personalities have gone before.
The 702 host has been blissfully and uninterruptedly married to the medium of radio for two decades and the love affair continues.
Aza, as she is affectionately known to listeners, said for her it’s been “the value of a moment to pause, putting your head down and staying in love”.
“It’s like a marriage. You have to commit, in spite of how you are feeling or how life goes,” she said.
Twenty years after starting out as an assistant producer on Metro FM’s afternoon show, The Ride, Mosaka has reached the pinnacle and is one of the most recognised voices and faces in the industry.
The leggy and beautiful Mosaka began her rise to the top at the tender age of 18 when she worked in television for two years on an SABC show, The Joint, but the radio bug bit hard and never let go.
“I went to Wits to pursue a BComm degree. I wanted to work in Treasury with Trevor Manuel to help fix our country. My dad wanted me to go into Science but I liked media,” she said.
Fortunately, she was blessed with parents who allowed their children to figure it out for themselves.
“I spent three years in London after completing my matric year after winning a competition. I really was just messing about. I was a hotel receptionist and worked at McDonald's. I gained so much weight there. Lunch was free,” Mosaka giggled.
While she admits it was hard to fit in in the UK, she did appreciate the beautiful sunsets and the many friends she met.
“The one thing I know I didn’t want to do was to be a caregiver or sign up for drug trials which was very common then,” she said.
Mosaka joined Primedia in 2015 and today her lifestyle-centred show is one of the most popular on 702.
“I like looking at the fabric and richness of life,” she said.
As for her presenting style, Mosaka said she has always been described as a diplomat.
“I remain calm. I try not to lose it. I am inclusive. I consult and also, I never wanted to be anything that I am not,” she said.
In her illustrious career, employers have tried to box Mosaka into what their perceptions of a female presenter are, but she would have none of it.
“They either wanted me to be a damsel in distress or a guy’s girl. I can change a tyre just like any of the men and I asked them why I should assume another personality? I learnt from early on to be myself,” she stressed.
Mosaka said her longevity is also because of the struggle of the women who have come before her and she too is paving the way for other women.
“Other women have paid their dues and we are paying ours,” she said.
As for the pitfalls that come with fame, Mosaka has had her fair share of “unsettling” moments.
“I generally use my own moral compass. A prisoner wrote letters to me and he would fill the entire page, even the margins. A guy once showed up at work and after he watched me do the show through the glass, I found him waiting next to my car. He just stared at me. That was weird’, she said.
Mosaka has two children, aged 15 and 22 and said she is a strict mom, to a degree.
“They know how they should apply themselves. My son does get away with a bit more than his sister,” she admitted.
When she’s out and about, doing what moms do, Mosaka often gets stopped by listeners to chat.
“I am just a regular mom, in my tracksuit pants, so focussed on my own shopping and to-do lists, that I forget I am recognisable.By the way, there are no designers to dress you up for life. But I am a chatter so I will chat to anyone who comes up to me. Sometimes for too long,” she laughed.
When she’s not working, Mosaka loves exploring small towns and has travelled extensively across Africa.
“I really love Prince Albert and I think they should pay me for all the punting I have done for the town. I also really enjoy hiking,” she said.
And while she had no plans to celebrate her 20 year marriage to radio, her family had other plans.
“They actually tricked me into dressing up and had planned an event to mark this milestone in my life at a venue in Midrand. They even had copies of my favourite books as gifts for the guests. I have also received congratulatory messages from colleagues and several little gifts were delivered to the office. I am still on a high. It was a beautiful reminder of the generosity and kindness of people,” she said.