Nthabeleng Matela had a good job as an economist. She left it to work unpaid in radio, on the reasoning that the only way into broadcasting was to already be in the building. A decade on she is an award-winning host on METRO FM, a touring DJ and a television presenter, working under the name Mat_Elle.
Quick Bio / At a Glance
| Name | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Nthabeleng Matela |
| Professional Name | Mat_Elle |
| Nationality | South African |
| Raised In | Carletonville, a mining town west of Johannesburg |
| Education | University of Pretoria |
| First Career | Economist |
| Station | METRO FM |
| Also Works As | DJ and television presenter |
| Recognition | Listed among the top three African female radio hosts in 2023 |
Carletonville
Matela was raised in Carletonville, a gold mining town on the West Rand, west of Johannesburg. It is a company town in the most literal sense — built around the deepest mines in the world — and not an obvious starting point for a broadcasting career.
She was, by her own account, close to a career as a professional athlete before a sports injury closed that route off.
She went to the University of Pretoria and into economics.
Leaving the Salary
The decision that defines her career is the one she described publicly in a 2022 interview: she quit a well-paying job to work for free as a broadcaster.
This is a familiar route into South African radio and a brutal one. Stations run on unpaid interns and volunteers, and the people who make it through are the ones who can afford to absorb a year or more without income — or who decide to do it anyway.
She has been unusually direct about the cost of that choice, which is part of why the interview travelled.
METRO FM
METRO FM is one of South Africa’s largest commercial radio stations, an SABC national urban contemporary network with an audience in the millions. Landing a presenting slot there is the top of the domestic radio market.
Matela built through the industry to a position on that station and has won awards for her presenting work.
In 2023 she was listed among the top three African female radio hosts — a continental ranking rather than a national one.
DJing and Television
Alongside radio she works as a DJ, playing internationally, and as a television presenter.
The combination is characteristic of the South African market, where the line between radio presenter, club DJ and television host is much thinner than in Europe or the United States, and where the strongest personalities work across all three.
A Note on the Name
She works as Mat_Elle, a stylisation of her surname, and that is how she is credited and how her social accounts are listed. Searches for the name written out as separate words return the same person.
She is South African rather than Basotho, despite a Sesotho name — a distinction some profiles get wrong, and one worth noting given the number of similarly named public figures in Lesotho.
What Is Documented
Her broadcasting career, her station, her prior work as an economist and the account of leaving it are supported by South African press coverage and her own professional listings.
Her exact date of birth and personal life are not publicly documented, and this profile does not speculate about them.
Why the Story Resonates
South Africa has a high graduate unemployment rate and a strong cultural pull toward the safe professional job. Matela had the safe job and left it for an unpaid one in an industry with no guarantees.
That is why she gets asked about it in every interview, and why the answer keeps circulating.
More broadcasting profiles: Lucy Hockings and Lester Holt.
