Former Hot 96 presenter Prof Hamo has disclosed how he negotiated his heft salary at Royal Media Services.
Speaking during an interview with Jalang’o, Hamo said that he was given an offer to join after appearing as a guest on Jeff Koinange’s breakfast show.
After the show, I was taken to Afune’s office (Director, Radio & Technical Services) where he was asked if he’d ever been a radio presenter.
“I told him I had never been on the radio because there is no money. He asked me how much I charge and threw the question back and asked how much he was offering.
“He wrote the figure on a piece of paper and handed it to me. In my heart, I was already sold but I told him the figure was what I meant when I said radio does not pay well. I told him that radio would restrict me from a lot of things and was not worth the amount he offered,” Hamo narrated.
The comedian left the office and asked the station to look for more money as Afune promised to call him.
At the time, Jalang'o had just left his 6-figure salary at Hot 96 and the station was in the market for a new presenter.
Hamo was later called back to do a 4-hour show with Koinange and after it was over, went to former RMS Director of Content Simaloi Dajom office for another round of negotiations.
“She told me that I am the one they want. I told them I don’t like being on radio and I have never done it before but she insisted that they would mould me,” he recalled.
Other than a heft salary, Hamo was interested in being Jeff Koinange’s host and learning from him and so he accepted the offer but at the back of his head, he only wanted to be a presenter for a limited time.
“Jeff Koinange is very knowledgable and well-travelled. Sometimes I would make up a joke about South Africa and he would start giving me stories about living there,” the comedian said.
Hamo left Hot 96 in 2021 after more than two years at the Royal Media station.
His transition and replacement was so smoothly done that many of his fans did not immediately catch on.
A few weeks before it was revealed, Koinange had stopped appearing with the comedian on air without any clarification on Hamo's whereabouts.
The show, Hot Breakfast, also changed its slogan from "Jeff and Hamo on Hot" to "Jeff and Clyde on Hot".
Hamo’s replacement VDJ Clyde is the deputy station manager at Hot 96 and music manager.