Her father was a regular in the homes of South Africans every Sunday at 3pm. He made fans fall in love with love songs and was one of the most popular names in radio.
When he died, the whole country mourned. But his daughter is making sure Eddie Zondi's legacy lives on. Keletso Modiba is following in her father's footsteps and is now part of YFM's main weekday line up.
She might be the daughter of the legendary radio personality but Keletso, Lula Odiba to her fans, has risen through the ranks on her own merits.
She is a cool, bubbly, and ambitious 23-year-old who is now the youngest presenter at YFM.
The nightcap with Lula Odiba airs between 7pm and 10pm, focusing on music and a full hour of talk each night to give young people a platform to openly explore the issues they face daily.
Lula has big plans and she wants to revolutionise radio.
Read more | Condolences pour in for Eddie Zondi
She is a media and anthropology graduate from Wits university.
Talking is her most favourite thing to do and she cannot believe she gets paid for it, she says.
“it is so easy to become myself on air because I just do what I do.”
Speaking to Drum, Lula says her father contributed to her love for radio and her decision to make it into a career.
“He was a radio God, I’ve been quiet about him being my father because I wanted people to focus on my merits. My father has power, it’s been 7 years since he has passed on, but there’s no weekend where they don’t mention his name, those are the shoes that I would love to fill,” she says.
She started off in campus radio around 2016. Seeing young people who had similar goals to hers motivated Lula.
“It became a dream of mine because the first year I joined VOW FM there were a lot of personalities moving to commercial radio stations and it made it seem almost inevitable to take this journey and ultimately end up there because VOW FM is such a great campus radio and platform to build and prepare you for commercial status,” she says.
Radio stations have reshuffled their line-ups and a number of personalities have moved to new slots and stations.
Read more | Lootlove and Pearl Modiadie are leaving Metro FM
It's a hectic time for most radio personalities but Lula bagged a promotion at YFM.
“This year in particular is a bit scary because you see people that have been in the industry for a decade or even more, then in 2021 they are having their farewell messages on social media.
“This career of ours is very tricky in the sense that one might not think that there’s longevity but I feel like if you are good enough in the platform you are given, it us up to you to get there, learn and slay and move to the next level. You cannot remain complacent in radio, you have to always stay hungry, that's what I have learned from seeing a lot of personalities being removed,” she adds.
She knew when she was in Grade 9 that she wanted to be on radio, she says.
“My father asked me what I want to do with my life, what do I want to be when I am older, I was shy to tell him I want to do radio like him. I thought he would think I wanted to do it because he does it but I was genuinely interested in radio I wasn’t even listening to his show, I thought it was old school, I wasn’t the target market, and I would hear it by default in the kitchen at home.”
Lula says she was inspired by the likes of Bonang Matheba who was at Metro FM at that time.
She knew though that it wasn't about the lifestyle or looking cool, but hard work.
“Once I figured that out, I unlocked a certain level of being a beast at this thing because I realized in order to pop I need to be good and be a genuine person.”
Her mom and brother have been great, she says. Her family financed her dreams and didn't put pressure on her to study something else.
"She [her mother] always does research and gives me content when I do not know what to talk about, she has been a phenomenal support system."