Zizi takes airwaves by storm

Kgomotso Molelekeng | Wednesday February 12, 2014 15:07

KGOMOTSO MOLELEKENG

Correspondent

resh, vivacious and fun, Zizi creates a first impression like no other. Born as Mimi Moruleng Zimasa, she has been on the airwaves for only six months, but already has proven to be a force to be reckoned with.

Zizi describes herself as an ambitious, driven, bubbly, friendly, very talkative, focused, competitive and yet very humble individual. Her story of how she ended up on radio, she said that she is almost like a fairytale.

'In 2012, Carlos introduced a basketball update on his show and he knew about my love for the sport so he asked me to join Fox to do a weekly analysis of basketball, from the NBA to the BBA. Then one night after I did the update, Oyapo Khupe (Duke), the programme manager called me and told me he likes the sound of my voice and if I've ever thought of doing radio,' she said.

She then signed up for Yarona fm Training Programme and in September last year she started presenting Faki Safety Belt (FSB), taking over from Ms B.

The 24-year-old added that she never thought in a million years she would be a radio personality.

'Growing up I wanted to be a lawyer or neurosurgeon. I was really smart kid, a straight A student, so it was expected of me to go into what people call 'a serious profession',' she said.

'Being on radio is not as easy as people make it sound,' Zizi said. She added: 'First thing is that even when you're having a really bad day, you still have to go on air and sound like the happiest person on the planet and people should take note that being on radio is just like any other public service. You have to give your audience the best service, which means you constantly need to reinvent yourself and sound fresh everyday.'

She added that another challenge she faces is that one opens up their life to a lot of criticism and being constantly scrutinised. She said that people will have opinions about you and what you do and they will make their opinions very public.

She said she has so far observed that radio personalities are considered as non-educated people. People tend to think they do not have degrees or any other qualification, so Zizi said they are all put in one box and as a result have to prove people wrong.

Zizi said so far she has been enjoying being a young female radio personality because she has learnt to toughen up in a male dominated industry. She also said that she works hard to be taken as seriously as the men are.

She said she is inspired by other radio personalities who have managed to stand tall even after being trashed by the media. 'I also look up to my father, he has given me the best upbringing a girl could ever ask for. He taught me the value of hard work, respect, love and humbling one self above anything,' she said.

In five years' time, she hopes she would have made a legacy and contributed to the growth of Yarona fm. 'At the rate I am going, I am hopeful that by 2018 I will be the best thing to come out of radio,' she said.

Her personality is larger than life and she is already winning the hearts of listeners on the Yarona fm drive time show she co-hosts with Dolla Mac. With her unique wit and charisma she injects into everything she does, Zizi is surely charming her way into the entertainment industry.Zizi describes herself as an ambitious, driven, bubbly, friendly, very talkative, focused, competitive and yet very humble individual. Her story of how she ended up on radio, she said that she is almost like a fairytale. 'In 2012, Carlos introduced a basketball update on his show and he knew about my love for the sport so he asked me to join Fox to do a weekly analysis of basketball, from the NBA to the BBA.

Then one night after I did the update, Oyapo Khupe (Duke), the programme manager called me and told me he likes the sound of my voice and if I've ever thought of doing radio,' she said. She then signed up for Yarona fm Training Programme and in September last year she started presenting Faki Safety Belt (FSB), taking over from Ms B.The 24-year-old added that she never thought in a million years she would be a radio personality. 'Growing up I wanted to be a lawyer or neurosurgeon.

I was really smart kid, a straight A student, so it was expected of me to go into what people call 'a serious profession',' she said. 'Being on radio is not as easy as people make it sound,' Zizi said. She added: 'First thing is that even when you're having a really bad day, you still have to go on air and sound like the happiest person on the planet and people should take note that being on radio is just like any other public service. You have to give your audience the best service, which means you constantly need to reinvent yourself and sound fresh everyday.' She added that another challenge she faces is that one opens up their life to a lot of criticism and being constantly scrutinised. She said that people will have opinions about you and what you do and they will make their opinions very public. She said she has so far observed that radio personalities are considered as non-educated people.

People tend to think they do not have degrees or any other qualification, so Zizi said they are all put in one box and as a result have to prove people wrong. Zizi said so far she has been enjoying being a young female radio personality because she has learnt to toughen up in a male dominated industry. She also said that she works hard to be taken as seriously as the men are. She said she is inspired by other radio personalities who have managed to stand tall even after being trashed by the media. 'I also look up to my father, he has given me the best upbringing a girl could ever ask for. He taught me the value of hard work, respect, love and humbling one self above anything,' she said. In five years' time, she hopes she would have made a legacy and contributed to the growth of Yarona fm. 'At the rate I am going, I am hopeful that by 2018 I will be the best thing to come out of radio,' she said.