CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hattie Massey Leeper, the pioneering broadcaster known to generations of listeners as “Chatty Hatty,” died Tuesday at age 98, her family said. Recognized as North Carolina’s first Black female radio announcer, Leeper spent 18 years on Charlotte-area stations WGIV-AM, WRPL and WAYS. She began at WGIV as a 14-year-old assistant at the station, which played rhythm and blues and gospel. Leeper also helped bring prominent performers to audiences in the region, promoting and booking artists including James Brown, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Patti LaBelle and Smokey Robinson. Her work extended beyond broadcasting: She wrote and produced music, ran a record store and developed a friendship with Motown founder Berry Gordy. Her granddaughter Hatiya Dunlap said Leeper used her voice to bring people together through music and to create opportunities for others. Dunlap described her as determined, creative and devoted to her faith, and said the family was proud of her contributions to broadcasting. After leaving radio, Leeper taught future communications professionals at Johnson C. Smith University and Gaston College. She retired in 1998 as chair of Gaston College’s broadcasting department and later founded Chatty’s School of Communications. Funeral and memorial arrangements are being finalized, the family said, and will be announced later.