After 12 years in the radio industry, “Hip-Hop mom” and supermom of six children, Lebang Kgosana has finally made it to the big leagues and is set to begin hosting a brand-new drive time show, “The Driver’s Seat with Lebang Kgosana” on Johannesburg based radio station, 919 FM from the 2nd of September 2024.
Previously known as “Bang Bang Boogie,” Lebang Kgosana began her radio journey in 2011 at Rhythm100 radio station as a news reader. She joined Yfm in 2015 and hosted various shows for four years. She co-hosted “The Weekend Rush” alongside Xtremme DJ for two years. She then co-hosted the “The Smash And Grab” breakfast show alongside Smash Afrika for another two years.
Following a short hiatus from radio, Lebang expanded her skill set and ventured into the world of production for a few years. In 2021she made a comeback to radio and served a year at Massiv Metro radio station. She chose to stay true to story-telling and explored the world of podcasting. Lebang later joined Cliff Central.com, South Africa’s leading podcast hub, as the head of Creative and Production for three years.
Her podcast #LifeWithLebang is focused on providing support and insights to new parents across the globe. The podcast won “Podcast of the Year,” at the African Podcast and Voice Awards (APVA) in 2023, making her the first black woman to win the award.
After giving birth to her sixth child in April 2024, award-winning broadcaster Lebang Kgosana decided to return to radio and joined 919fm to host #TheFreeLunch. Radio is still the most listened to medium in South Africa according to Radio Audience Measurement (Rams).
- 75% of South Africans 15+ listen to radio weekly, with an average daily time spent listening of five hours and 12 minutes.
- Radio scores well across all socio-economic groups.
- Even as digital platforms grow, broadcast radio co-exists strongly, with 68% of social media users and 76% of music streamers being weekly radio listeners as well.
- Commercial and public stations attract varied audiences, with many stations garnering over 1 million weekly listeners across languages like Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, and English.
“South Africa’s radio landscape is incredibly vibrant with over 300 community and commercial stations broadcasting in 11 official languages across four distinct audience segments,” says the Broadcast Research Council of South Africa’s (BRC) CEO, Gary Whitaker.