Unathi returns to the airwaves with a fresh dose of Afropolitan flair

“It broke me.”

That is sadly the first thing composer, performer, broadcaster and television producer Unathi Nkayi has to say about the abrupt end to her 10-year stint at Metro FM, hosting the station’s breakfast show The First Avenue alongside Glen Lewis.

While she has not explicitly stated the reasons for her less-than-amicable-departure from the station, she once vaguely explained the reasons to Gareth Cliff in an interview on his radio platform.

“I was just on some ‘I don’t like what is going on right now, and I am not going to put up with it anymore because I am actually great at what I do.’ It’s knowing when to bow out graciously and gracefully… knowing when to be appreciative of the success.”

However, part of the reason she claims the experience broke her lies in the fact that she says she gave so much of herself to her show and that it affected her life as a wife and mother.

“That is why I had to take a three-year break. I knew I was hurt, I knew I was angry. There were so many things I was going through and I didn’t want to be an angry broadcaster who doesn’t listen to that intuition that guides us so prophetically.”

It is for these same reasons that she was ecstatic to hear from her former YFM boss turned Kaya FM managing director Greg Maloka when he called to offer her a new slot at a new station.

In lieu of the presence of Bridget Masinga following her recent exit from Kaya, Nkayi will now join the station’s family as the host of the newly revamped Monday to Thursday slot between 12:00 and 15:00.

“On her new show Unathi, starting on 2 March will lead conversations that are attuned with the lives of Afropolitans, while continuing to serve listeners with the unique music offering that the Home of the Afropolitan is known for. Nkayi’s appointment comes in line with the station’s commitment to leading new trends in broadcast media,” said the station in a statement.

Speaking to the Citizen at an event held in celebration of her appointment, Nkayi expressed a slight nervousness about not knowing how fans will receive her energy.

And energy is exactly the right word to use since Nkayi has a demeanor and voice matched only by her megawatt smile.

Hearing her speak is like that first sip of a freshly prepared expresso – a light jolt to the system that soon takes you over, leaving you feeling charged and while this is great for a breakfast show, one can only wonder if it will work during a midday slot at a more mature station filled with a line up of measured speakers?

For this, only a cliche such as “time will tell” can suffice as an answer in the interim.

“I was trained by the best and the best teach you that it’s not about you.”

Unathi Nkayi. Picture Supplied

The only thing Nkayi can do is prepare and she has done a lot of that. From strategy meetings and celebration dinners with her radio gal pals such as Anele Mdoda to deciding what her approach will be as she opens this new chapter.

“We want to be the intersection of dynamic forces when it comes to lifestyle, to arts, to culture, to travel, to music, personal development, business development but we also want to make the music a personality,” she says as she references how fashion was considered a fifth character of sorts on the show Sex and the City.

“We’re doing our best to make sure that nobody else is listened to between 12 and three from the second of March.”

As a person who is spiritually inclined and is an empath at heart, she has also resolved to trust her intuition on the job.

“It is all I have. It’s all I’ve ever had. All I have ever trusted. All that has ever guided me. And I know that it is all I will ever have in the future,” begins Nkayi.

“And that is why the two most important pillars of the show are the music and whatever our listeners are going through. I’ve been fortunate in my intuition and that has made me very secure in who I am so i don’t need to speak too much, I don’t need to speak over our audience and yap which I find a lot of people out there are doing.”

“I truly can’t wait to serve, I truly can’t wait to tap into that intuition and understand what our audience wants and to be able to give that. There is nothing more fulfilling than being able to serve with a purpose wholeheartedly.”

“I’m a server. One of my languages of love is service so it’s what I do intrinsically.”

Her time off air was spent in a range of ways. She filled her days hosting Moja Love’s popular Show Me Love talk show, appearing as a beloved judge on Idols South Africa and penning a memoir titled ‘I Keep Learning.’

In the book, which is co-authored by Kabomo Vilakazi, she gives readers an intimate look at the trials and triumphs of her life.

From her life growing up in the diaspora, to her graduation from Rhodes University with degrees in Journalism and Drama, to her highly publicized marriage and subsequent split from her husband – Nkayi tells all.

And so, on 2 March 2020, she will be going into her new show unfettered by the baggage of her past and ready to grow, live, laugh and learn with her new audience.

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