By Bonginkosi Ntiwane
The Metro FM team celebrated Wilson B Nkosi for his 34-year stay at the station a few Sundays ago. The man has hosted all the station’s shows, bar the jazz slot. But it’s his Sounds and Stuff Like That show that has made him a custodian of mode-setting on a Sunday.
He’s an institution with a cult following that would leave TB Joshua green with envy. For so many years, other stations have fruitlessly tried to build their own love movements on their airwaves on a Sunday. They could play the very same Howard Hewitt’s Call His Name, but for some odd reason it doesn’t sound the same without the commanding yet soothing voice of Nkosi back-announcing it.
Sunday is a day when most people unwind and later prepare for the week. There’s also a sense of reflection, often with a tinge of anxiety. Anxious about the stress of the workplace or school – this is when the fun “weekend you” makes way for the more apprehensive version of yourself. I suppose this is one of the reasons people are so attached to Metro FM radio on Sunday, as it’s somewhat of a safe space for a lot of adults, with all the endearing music.
But the children have found an alternative of chasing away the Sunday blues. Leading to a shift in the sound of Sunday, slowly moving away from the melodramatic ditties such as Toni Braxton’s Un-break My Heart or Al Jarreau’s Your Song, which I felt forced to listen to growing up, to that of Zoë Modiga Umdali and Sio’s Could You being played on radio.
Some radio stations have taken Metro’s blueprint of Sunday radio a complete takeover of the airwaves, creating a Sunday mood, that translates into a movement.
YFM has been one of the leaders. While their neighbours at Metro will be punting the #LoveMovement hashtag, YFM’s Sunday theme is summed up by #SundayFeels hashtag.
From 6am to 6pm, the common thread is feels or vibes. This talks to a person’s emotional state or the atmosphere of a place. DJ Flax, who comes in at 10am until 2pm, and Just Mo’s Global Experience show which follows and runs until 6pm are the station’s two protagonists in carrying out these feels. Think the late Eddie Zondi and Nkosi together in their prime.
5FM’s Selective Styles show with Kid Fonque is one of the first to display this paradigm shift or at least highlight listeners’ appetite for something different, with a playlist that’s predominantly dance music.
Sunday is a great time for radio – given that listeners make an effort to tune in and are therefore very pedantic about the music and content offering. That is why a show like Selective Styles is important, 5FM station manager Siyanda Fikelepi has said.
It’s been on air since 2016 and just two months ago, it celebrated its 200th show. What’s also important about the show is how it has managed to create a community on twitter where curated content is discussed and trends. This has a loyal following that can’t go unnoticed, Fikelepi says.
Kaya FM seemed to try the Metro route with Tbose’s Touch of Soul, but they’ve now decided to approach Sundays in their own way through their thoroughly-researched What’s Wrong With Groovin’, from 2pm to 6pm.
Uniquely packaged as an audio-documentary steeped in Pan-African knowledge, art, narratives, literature and history, it’s held together by writer Lebohang Masango’s narration.
Bonginkosi Ntiwane is a storyteller/a pop enthusiast and founder of online lifestyle publication, The Bravado.
The Star