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Channel O's Lee on her exit from premier music hub

Achieving Woman

 

Lee exists music hub
 Leslie Kasumba

Leslie Kasumba wears many hats. At 34, she has straddled the globe as a TV presenter, entertainment consultant, philanthropist, writer and editor. But to music lovers in Africa, the name Leslie Kasumba certainly strikes a responsive chord.

Kasumba, better known as “Lee” topped the charts by becoming head of Africa’s premier music hub, Channel O back in 2011.

However, after three years at the helm, Kasumba has left the continental channel, her last big act being the 2014 Channel O Africa Music Video Awards (CHOAMVA) held towards the end of last year in South Africa.

Though she will not categorically state her next move, Kasumba says she is embarking on a bigger and more challenging endeavour that will have a “positive impact on popular African culture on a global scale.”

Speaking to ‘Eve Woman’ from South Africa, Kasumba says the job was a combination of everything she was and stood for. It was woven around her love for Africa and the youth, the power of music, the continent’s culture and its vibrant media. The job, she adds, seemed to be tailor-made for her.

Her voice breaking intermittently with strong emotions, Kasumba says she will never take it for granted that she was able to be at the channel at the time that she did.

“This was when Africans were starting to discover each other through music and witnessing the explosion of African stars. Honestly, I really feel like everything was a highlight for me... the continental relationships I developed... I believe I have given everything and it’s time to move on,” she says.

The Channel O appointment thrust the South African bred, but Ugandan-born Kasumba into the fast flowing torrent of music, interacting with top artistes from the continent, and at the same time nurturing the dreams of many upcoming ones.

She remembers her appointment to that high office as if it was yesterday.

“I feel God has a sense of humour because I never intended to do that sort of thing. I never thought I would sit in a ‘corporate entertainment’ office. But I was asked to do an interview for the job and I had this feeling like this is something that I could do. It’s been an incredible season in my life, working for a dynamic company like Multichoice,” she says.

For her, working for the top channel was like being part of history, especially due to the number of programmes that commenced at her watch. Kasumba says she is proud of projects like Africa Dreaming, being involved in the CHOAMVA awards, initiating shows like Speakerboxx, Top 10 Most, recording a live show in Kenya, working on ‘Africa Rising’ among others.

Among the accolades she throws the channel’s way is its ability to invest in women, citing the case of Yolisa Phalale and Patrica Van Rooyen – top executives of Mnet South Africa and Sub- Saharan Africa respectively. There is also Biola Alabi, her first ever female boss, who she says did her job with grace and excellence.

But the multi-talented Kasumba dived into the entertainment world against her family’s wishes.

In Africa, she says, it is common for children to follow a predestined family career, something that would have obviously pleased her father.

“Yes, I suppose every African parent ideally wants his children to follow an academic route. And for a while, it did look that way, especially because when growing up, I was so close to my dad. I literally followed him everywhere! I wanted nothing more than to be a doctor like him,” she says.

Despite her academic excellence while schooling at Hyde Park High School in Johannesburg, Kasumba decided to do a radio jig and pay for her piano lessons at the university.

At 19, Kasumba was selected to work as a DJ and producer for the urban radio station, YFM the biggest youth radio station in South Africa. During her nine-year tenure at YFM, she also edited the station’s Y-Magazine.

“I started to pay more attention to entertainment, the music and the media. I think at first everyone thought I was going through a phase since, to a huge degree, I am still someone who tries different things. But then I started to enjoy it a lot and followed my heart at the risk of everything. I couldn’t understand why I was so determined because I was never the type to go against what my parents wanted,” she says.

At first, she tried hard to conceal her “extra-curricular activities” by not using her full names on radio. Both at home and the university, she was Leslie Kasumba while on radio she was simply Lee. In any case, it was at YFM where Kasumba forged some long lasting relationships.

“For example, the first person to have ever believed in me, Thomas Msengana (Bad Boy T) taught me a lesson that I should always take care of people, open doors for others and make sacrifices for them. Towards the end of my first year out of high school, which was also my first year in university, I was doing a show with him. From there, my life changed overnight, and I am so grateful that we still have a big brother-little sister relationship,” states Kasumba.

Kasumba’s charm offensive extended beyond music. Together with Ross Atkins, she co-hosted the BBC’s World ‘Have Your Say’ programme broadcast to more than 20 million people worldwide.

Even the world of sports was not beyond her reach. Kasumba served as the brand personality for respected South African soccer club, Kaizer Chiefs, in addition to working with Bafana Bafana, the South African National Team.

During the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Kasumba hosted the Sony ‘Make Believe’ show at The Dome where world renowned stars including Shakira, Freshly Ground, R Kelly and Brazilian football star Kaka were in attendance.

What, though, does the ‘African Queen’ of Hip Hop think about the future of African music in the digital era? According to Kasumba, the digital age ought to bring out good tidings to African music. She says African musicians have become proficient in using social media and other online forums such as Youtube in awesome ways.

“What I mean is that if someone drops a video in Africa now, it will probably be on online platforms before it hits any major TV or radio stations. It is actually a blessing in disguise because the fact that we don’t have distribution channels across Africa means we benefit the most from the digital era. If artistes are really smart, it will change their own bottom lines. Africa is fully in the digital age and it can only get bigger,” she says.

And does she have any favourite musician? “That is one of the hardest questions. I mean Africa teems with talent. Look at Sauti Sol’s explosion. Then you have people like STL (Stella Mwangi), Wyre, Camp Mulla, Chidinma, Diamond...the list is endless. That’s my answer,” says Kasumba.

Kasumba says leaving Channel O was one of the hardest decisions she had to make, however, with such a long list of compliments, we can only wish her well in her future endeavours.

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