Liz McGregor follows the fortunes of South African Fana Khaba, a boy from a severely disadvantaged township background, a former taxi-driver, who achieves celebrity status and a cult following as the most popular DJ on Gauteng’s new youth radio station, only to die tragically and prematurely from AIDS.

Khabzela had it all – money, fame and a string of women, literally lining up at his bedroom door. His promiscuity made him a high-risk candidate for AIDS – there was wide-spread support when he came out on air with his diagnosis – but why would such a modern, urban man refuse the treatment that could have prolonged his life so significantly?

McGregor paints a vivid picture of a society evolving from a complex and damaged past. She takes readers back to the days of Sophiatown – vibrant, multi-cultured, razed to the ground; replaced by the match-box houses of Soweto with curfews and restrictions; post-1994, a draw-card for all-night street bashes, fuelled by dagga, beer and the hybrid beat of kwaito music; the vibe in Rosebank as emerging radio station Yfm played music not heard on the local airways before. The excitement is tangible…

Khabzela provides a valuable record of an extraordinary time in South Africa’s history.

Liz Mcgregor