COVER: DJ Sabby living his ‘best’ life after years of silently and patiently working on the dream
If there is any hard working individual within the entertainment industry, DJ Sabby’s name definitely fits that bill.
The 32-year-old made immense strides in his radio career in the last 15 plus years – slowly cementing his name as a prolific radio jock worthy of prominent slots.
To recap – just last year Sabelo Mtshali was announced to take over the popular mid-morning show “The Bridge” and in less than a year of that announcement, the jock was quickly promoted to Metro FM’s breakfast slot. These two moves were preceded by him joining the public broadcaster in 2021, hosting Metro FM’s Top 30 countdown, a goal he said he had been working towards for 14 years.
And like the saying goes “success doesn’t come overnight”, DJ Sabby attributes his milestones to hard work and dedication to the craft.
“And as cliché as those two disciplines might sound, that is all it took for me to be where I am today. I worked hard and remained faithful to the craft,” he said.
I’m excited & honored to be trusted w/the biggest slot on
— The Best Thing Ever Official (@SabbyTheDJ) March 17, 2023English urban radio, the breakfast show on the mighty @metrofmsa.
Words fail me but I know God has my back & my mama is smiling from the heavens sky.
Ur mornings are about to become ur “Best Mornings” between 6-9am. pic.twitter.com/k4RLrbyPYh
In the past nine years of his career, DJ Sabby worked relentlessly to find his voice and fine tuned the kind of jock he wanted to be on the radio. Once that was discovered, improving himself on that solid foundation became seamless.
“When I joined Metro, it was a blessing in disguise, despite the fact that for the person looking in from outside – they would think I gambled with a drive time slot show to take on a chart show. But I think it was also God giving me room to learn about this platform; to see how they operate, get a sense of the listener and find myself within the mix.”
So after 14 years, he was willing to start from the bottom – again.
“The more I reflect, it kinda hits me that the move from YFM to Metro FM is probably one of the biggest jumps for any personality to be blessed with. But it is all dependent on you, how you design that move. If you follow money, it might fall flat on your face but if you follow a longevity trajectory, it might play out in your favour,” and that is what his game plan was. Playing the long game.
Winning accolades for his chart show was proof that he was on the right track. But that didn’t mean he had made it, but was only the beginning of the work needed to be where he wanted to go. Back to his comfort of the weekdays/day times slot where he finds himself now.
The young DJ Sabby has also made personal strides, as a newly wed-husband and father – he feels the platform is best suits for him.
“It adds to my insight, to things I can now talk about – I am ready to engage with these kinds of topics. It is exciting to be trusted with something so big by a massive radio station like Metro FM and I am honoured to know that they see me exactly how I see myself. Ready. I love the challenges that are thrown at me and this is yet another challenge,.” The next goal is to be the number one option when it comes to breakfast radio.
“I am genuinely a believer of the kind of product that I offer. It is all about the content and the music at the end of the day, and I am confident and comfortable with where I am now.”
And with this rapid growth at his feet, DJ Sabby has had to overcome some of own demons. The pace of things aligning has been a huge challenge for him, “to be in a place in your life where you personally feel everything is supposed to be coming your way but isn’t. That is when I had to understand that it doesn’t work that way. That patience is needed in everything one does, the biggest challenge I had to tackle head one at some point in my life.”
But when he looks back, patience has been the underlying secret to his journey. Through the process of gaining the trust of listeners and decision makers, getting the airtime to prove himself and thus solidifying himself as a trustworthy jock. Patience has always been the key.
“I am so happy to be at a point in my career where I can proudly say that radio comes first for me. I feel like I have worked really hard to be able to say such things because I know I have earned it.
“And that’s the thing, everyone can reach that point in whatever they work towards. I know that for a fact, look at me. Allow your passion to steer your focus and turn that dream into a reality. It is possible,” he said.
