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It’s started with a phone call from a young girl called Taji who wanted to know what it takes to be the best in Radio. Instead of the Breakfast Club presenters on Kisumu’s Urban Radio 90.7 FM just giving a few pointers to the twelve-year-old, they decided to take themselves back to where their careers started. Opening up about their successes, failures and personal struggles.
A week ago, the Lead Presenter of the show Edward Kwach read out his letter to his twelve-year-old self.
Concentrate more on your hobbies, buy more books, breed more dogs. Drinking isn’t a hobby.
Edward Kwach, Lead Presenter Breakfast Club on Urban Radio 90.7 FM
The media career that would see him not only hosting the biggest show on Kenyan radio but being this country’s most sought after radio presenter at the time began with an ad campaign when he was only fourteen years old. A darling of the brands he became with his powerful voice, doing ads for Coca-Cola, Safaricom, Airtel, Tusker Lite and so many more. He had initially set out to study law and probably follow in the footsteps of his father, a respected retired judge. But media would come calling all the way in South Africa.
Don’t punch Collo of Kleptomaniaks because of your lost wallet. Don’t fight him. Walk away because you will be dismissed from Kiss the second time.
He has twice worked for Capital FM and twice at Kiss FM. He has been to East Africa Radio in Tanzania, Hot 96 and is now doing his second stint at Kisumu’s Urban Radio. Interestingly, he has been fired from all the stations because of drinking or things he did under the influence.
When you hit rock bottom, appreciate it and stay there for a moment.
The tone of this letter, and indeed the five other letters by all of the station’s presenters is that of ‘their past will not define them.’ The honesty is brutal. Even though they are letters written to a twelve-year-old, they make you want to stop and think about your own life for a moment. However old you are.
Urban Radio 90.7 FM is kind of going through a second chance of its own. Listening to the letters from all the presenters, you are left feeling that the guy in charge of recruiting them was very intentional about what he or she was doing – building a radio station that’s relatable. That’s real. That’s raw. That’s uncut.
For sure this is what their programming oozes. I admit I have not been keen on Kenyan radio for a while. The daily choreographed relationship soap operas that we are treated to every morning isn’t really my cup of tea – I often joke that I have better real-life drama of my own. You gotta listen to the Breakfast Club on Urban Radio 90.7 FM (or on www.urbanradio.co.ke) to understand what I am talking about, I doubt my words can do it justice.
If you like your presenters bold, if you prefer them witty, if you love them knowledgeable, if want them a little sassy and if you tolerate them just a little naughty then this is the kind of breakfast show you will love. They don’t shy away from calling out stupidity – especially from your politicians. But these are the go-to-guys when you just need an A1 start to your day. His co-hosts are Chris Okinda and Diana Kubebea.
Somebody still needs to tell me how many movies Kwach has watched because he somehow seems to connect all the songs they play with the movies they have featured in.
Below is the complete video of Kwach reading his letter to his younger self.
