Radio has for ages remained a very powerful media worldwide.
Even with the various advances in technology which have seen new forms of
entertainment especially over the internet, radio still remains the most
outreaching. Yes! You can play music on your iPod, iPad, phone (these days
almost everything seems to start with an 'i'), but nothing can beat that 'voice',
the voice of the dj introducing music. No wonder they have included the radio app in all those 'i'
gadgets!
Our 'Star of
the Week' is in my opinion, (which by the way, is sought
after world overJ)
a revolutionary in the broadcasting industry. She makes radio sound so super sexy. She is none other than Power FM's Primrose Jani better known as 'The P
Factor' (I always say she is the 'P' in 'Power FM'! (There! I've said it again).
Primrose Shamiso Jani is a 29 year
old (though I doubt the authenticity of the fact
because 1. she looks 23 and 2. how often does a lady reveal her age?) radio and
TV personality, music librarian, voice over artist and producer amongst many
other things at ZBC, the country's national broadcaster. She has been with ZBC
for a good decade plus 1 year which means she started out at the tender age of
19 (based on my theory she started at 12- hey! it's possible maybe she was one
of those Power kidz J). Her work CV would take you
ages to go through because she is all over the place from marketing, advertising
to logistics; she is what we would call in simple terms, a hard worker!
Born and bred in Gweru, she
attended Nashville and Chaplin high schools (and
here I was thinking all the pretty girls went to Regina Mundi). Her story to
where she is today is a fairy-tale full of inspiration. After her 'A' Levels, her
parents could not afford to take her to university but that did not take her
down. She had to do an LCCI course and after lessons she would go to the then 3FM
studios to hang around there. Being someone who loved learning, she was so
enthusiastic about how the station was run. She would help out at their music
library learning more about radio in the process.
As time
passed, she had learnt so much that she could do everything that was supposed
to be done by a librarian and was also learning more
about broadcasting as a whole. Now fate is one funny thing, it just takes an
unexpected turn of events for you to realise it. The librarian whom Prim had
become an understudy to, got married and had to change base and that created a
vacancy within Power FM. The decision as to who would fill that vacancy
was an easy one to make as it was a unanimous one. I mean, who wouldn't want
such a smiling face in their library? So she signed a contract and as the cliché
goes, the rest is history. When Power FM moved back to the bright lights
of Harare (not so bright these days), she started spreading her wings and branched
out to TV as well becoming the presenter of Gospel Blend on Channel2.
Her voice can be distinctly heard on most
advertisements on both radio and TV.
Midnight radio does not get any
better than The Playroom Party - a
show which is her personal creation. "Radio
is my passion, I'm all about making people smile”, she says with that trademark
smile on her baby face. Personally I have always thought being on air at night
is a bit challenging (I love my sleep) but Prim says it's fun, "people
'hear' the radio during the day but 'listen' to it during the night
and that makes it so much fun especially with the interactions with your
listeners."
Power FM for a long time enjoyed what I would call a
'monopoly' but with the coming in of two new
players in the industry, we have seen some competition arise and I asked her if
as a station they were worried of losing listenership. "Power FM is a big
brand and it's not easy to take us down. It's not a fluke that we won Super
brand of The Year two years in a row. The competition only makes us stronger
as we now work harder." So to all those
who thought Power FM was
finished, think again!
A proud mom, Prim likes spending
quality time with her two boys (can't say they are cute
because I'm a guy but yeah! They look like their mom) Kupakwashe and
Tadiwanashe. She watches cartoons with them, feeds them (a lot) and takes them
out but she instils in them good values, morals and behaviour and raises them
in the way she was raised herself. "I thank God for them, they are the
reason why I'm a hard worker."
Prim feels that it is hard being
a single mom because society judges you in all kinds of ways but,
"I love my kids and I would never give them up for anything", she
says. Being a small town girl, Prim finds Harare to be difficult to adjust to (we totally understand). She is reserved at times and sees Harare's social life a bit
extreme. Power FM however holds 'family nights' and Prim says they are fun. She
is a mother both at home and at work as she loves serving her colleagues
especially at functions. Oh! And did I mention she loves
eating (a lot).
According to
her, a True African Woman is
someone with hunhu (good
morals) and is respectful to others (for me anyone like
Prim is a true African woman). She is inspired by Bridget 'Bubbling B' Gavanga
who was her mentor when she started out. To all those out there who (like me) dream
of being on radio one day, "radio is you! it just requires you to be confident,
you just have to put yourself out there
it's not about having whatever degree".
Prim is planning to work on a
project that is surely going to change reality TV in Zimbabwe
forever as it will be the first of its kind in this land (watch this space!!!). The
sky is certainly not the limit for this young lady and one can only wonder, 'what
next?!!'..."You never know, acting maybe!”. In the meantime, for all you radioholics
like me let's make full use of the time we still have in The Playroom to
play and dance to the hits especially those 90s mid-retro. It can only be The P Factor on
Power FM!
Catch The P Factor
for:
The Playroom Party every Saturday @3 am,
The Dairyboard Power Kids weekdays @2:30
On 99.3 Power FM
Facebook: Power FM
Zimbabwe
The writer Eddie
Love Jones Biriyati is the Entertainment reporter for True African Woman
Magazine. He is also an events dee-jay.
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