Hastings Interviews DJ Sabby

I cannot think of the up-and-coming crop of SA entertainers without slotting DJ Sabby in the equation. He’s known as one of the promising on-air personalities at YFM, a club DJ and a TV presenter amongst other things.

At the age of 14 he fell head over heels in love with radio and, determined to make the medium his happy hunting ground, he began working with the Love Life Radio Y’s programme where he got his first radio training through the programme and The Media Training Centre (MTC).
While juggling his weekend mornings and weekday nights slots on PRIMEDIA’s Cape-Town based commercial station, 94.5 KFM, he also pronged out into TV as a presenter on SABC 1’s teenage show- Bonisanani. Not one to let the waves lead his boat to the shore, he’s had a stint on 94.7 Highveld Stereo hosting the late graveyard slot on weekends. This was before he made inroads into YFM through the Y-Academy. After serving his time as a stand-in YFM DJ and weekday traffic reporter for Dineo’s drive, he’s finally landed his own slot at the station. As the phrase goes…the rest is history.
I finally sat with him for a quick chinwag and these are some of the things that popcorned…

Hastings: If I gave you an elephant where would you hide it?
DJ Sabby: Kwakwakwakwa they’re just too big though dawg! I guess slaughtering it would be a better idea. You didn’t say dead or alive kwakwakwa
Hastings: What was the best thing before sliced bread?
DJ Sabby: Sprite, I just love the cool drink.
Hastings: Wrong answer. Moving along swiftly…congrats on your new radio slot, tell us more…
DJ Sabby: Thanks SirHastings, The Adrenaline Rush is the name of the show and it airs every weekend between 12 – 3am on YFM. It’s a feel good radio experience slot with the perfect energy and features that are set to make peeps feel ecstatic about the weekend indoors or outdoors. We only live once and that’s the motto!!

Hastings: Don’t come here with that YOLO thing. We don’t want you pulling an Unathi on us. Lol. Let’s start with the famous question. Who DJ Sabby?

DJ Sabby: DJ Sabby is an ambitious 22 year old lad hailing all the way from Mandeni a small township in KZN. He came to JHB to make his dreams come true and his doing just that.
Hastings: oh you one of those who didn’t come to joziburg to admire the Nelson Mandela bridge. What’s a typical day in your life?

DJ Sabby: I wish I had a perfect answer for you but I don’t, everyday has its own agenda. Besides the radio and TV that I do – there are some other arena’s that tend to seek my attention. I have a flexible but tight diary.

Hastings: TV and Radio, two very competitive spaces. Why do that to yourself?

DJ Sabby: Look buddy – competition is healthy and I am pleased that I am doing what I am doing. Radio is passion and if I had to compete with 300 billion people for a radio slot bring it on son. I love what I do and I even forget about the competition, until you get to that audition room for castings, lol.
But the fresh thing about media is that you forever on your toes as there are just too many people who are seeking your spot, so reinventing yourself is like your survival plan.

Hastings: At what point did you know that’s the path you wanna take and how did you go about making it happen?

DJ Sabby: Interesting question there, well at the age of 14 I joined a narrowcasting radio station in my township and in the same year, the station was awarded a broadcasting license for 31 days and boy after that – I knew this was for me and my mind was set till today, radio gives me butterflies.
Hastings: And your long journey / wait for the current slot shows that you love the medium. Remember at some point I’d ask why you still held on as I felt you weren’t being given the recognition you deserve…what kept you holding on for so long vele mzini?
DJ Sabby: Yeah I remember those days dawg – the honest truth is I believe that everything has it’s time and when it’s your time you will know and everything will just fall into place. My grandmother and aunt have always told me that, “yonke into mfana wami inesikhathi sayo boy” and those words always played in my head.
So I just kept working and doing my thing with those words playing in my head and with the product sounding hot, I knew something will pop eventually.
Hastings: I admire the patience…. given a chance, would you enter Big Brother?
DJ Sabby: Neh, I’m just too much of a private person.
Hastings: jeh jeh right! What do you do in your free time?
DJ Sabby: Spend it with my girlfriend, I rarely have time to just chill with her.
Hastings: Ok committed man. Just to get you into trouble with the Mrs. Name one celebrity you would love to get naughty with?
DJ Sabby: I just knew you would bring this cat out of the bag. There’s just something about Rihanna’s bad behavior right now.

Hastings: Riiii is something else dude. She can get it every day all day! Wait a minute…someone told me u have a huge crush on Anele mos?
DJ Sabby: Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwa! Anele nogal! What huge crush for me, well look I have no issues with Ms Mdoda I think she is a hard worker and is living her dream. Industry girls… neh I am cool with them, I have no crush on none of em. Moving on…
Hastings: Which entertainers do you look up to locally and internationally?

DJ Sabby: Internationally I think Ryan Seacrest is a beast, his worse than a bee – he just keeps inspiring me with how uncomfortable he is with his current success and he keeps challenging himself.
Proverb is one of my local icons, if you know his story and you look at him today – you understand the meaning of hustle, persistence and challenging yourself. His boss!
Bonang is also that girl that I have a crush on her hustle – she has worked freaken hard to be where she is, she has definitely earned all her stripes.

Hastings. Undisputed showbiz royalty right there! And the resemblance between you and Neyo…wanna tell us something?

DJ Sabby: Did you really have to bring this question Hastings lol, – look I get this all the time and I have learned to accept it and say, Neyo looks like me and there is nothing I can do with it. LMFAO
Hastings: I’m told you are one of the ambassadors for the Sunflower fund…what does that mean?

DJ Sabby: Who told you this? well look I haven’t started any formal work with the organization but from our last meeting I was touched by the stats of how many young black people are suffering from leukemia and blood cancer that I saw it as a great opportunity to use my influence in changing attitude and behavior to the minds of today’s youth.
Hastings: Looking forward to the difference this will yield. What would be the first thing you would do if today was your last day?

DJ Sabby: I would go to church. I haven’t been there for a minute. Maybe that would better the next day on arrival at heaven
Hastings: hahaha! And your website? What is it about? Are you trying to be JC?

DJ Sabby: Kwakwakwakwa ! JustCurious is like the ANC of entertainment reporting, you guys are just too BIG #NoHomo. Well djsabby.com was my entertainment reporting website and I think it did pretty well with close to 60 000 absolute visitors every month. But I have stopped the site for now and I am redesigning it to a more profile / personality site and will create a new domain for the entertainment site. I love it and I made some nice change from it.

The End.

By Hastings Moeng

@SirHastingz

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