"Only death will separate me from radio." These are the words from one of the darlings of the airwaves, Vuledzani Ishmael Pilani, famously known as VIP in the radio industry.
Pilani, from Mapate village in Thengwe near Tshilamba, presents a programme called Masase on Vhembe FM, which airs from Monday to Friday in the early hours between 03:00 to 06:00. He started his radio journey with Musina FM in 2012 and joined Vhembe FM two years ago.
He will never forget how he fell in love with radio. "It happened in 2012 when I accompanied my two presenter friends to the Musina FM studio where they were going to present their shows. I then greeted everyone at the studio and one of the management team members hinted that I had a good radio voice. At first, I took it for granted, but I continued to visit the studio on regular basis. Lady luck came my way when I was asked to stand in for a presenter who could not make it to work. I jumped into the studio without any preparation, and everyone was pleased with my performance. I was asked to come again the next day, and I was finally recruited to join the station."
Pilani, who received the Musina FM Best Presenter Award in 2015, said his radio career was a calling. "There is nothing that soothes my soul more than the radio. Radio is everything to me and I cannot live without it. When I am in the studio, I forget about everything else, because I find myself in another world, different from this one that everyone lives in."
Asked where his nickname VIP came from, he said: "I had to be creative and come up with something different. It does not mean that I am a very important person, but they are simply the initials of my names and surname, Vuledzani Ishmael Pilani."
He explains why is loved by countless listeners of Vhembe FM. "There is no other recipe for success besides doing what you love and thorough preparation. I prepare thoroughly before I go on air. I also accept the fact that I will be dealing with different listeners who have different viewpoints. That is why, when I open the lines, I make sure that I take control of the conversation without compromising the views of the listeners. I always make sure that the listeners become part of the programme by allowing them to interact with me through various online platforms."