Listen To Your Footsteps

When Ringo Madlingozi lost his mother, his grief led him to an uncomfortable realisation: he had never truly asked his sons how losing their own mothers had felt. In Episode 150 of Listen To Your Footsteps, recorded at Sony Music Africa in Johannesburg, Kojo Baffoe sits down with the Afro-soul icon and his sons, singer and actor Phila Madlingozi and ThandaMusic. Their EP, Uthando Ngundoqo (Love Is...

In this special episode of Listen to Your Footsteps from 2025, host Kojo Baffoe becomes the guest and Melanie Bala the host. From a devastating injury that ended his Olympic dreams to the last words he shared with his father, these ten moments trace a life built on resilience, identity, and the quiet trust that the universe has you. Check out the full episode wherever you get your podcasts.

Ntosh Madlingozi has never wanted children. Some people, he reflects, have children because they grew up without a father, and that is how they heal. "So the only way I could heal myself," he says, "was to be a great father to myself." In this episode of Listen To Your Footsteps, Kojo Baffoe sits down with the South African stand-up comedian and actor for an unhurried conversat...

Singer, songwriter, and activist Simphiwe Dana sits down with host Kojo Baffoe to reflect on the moments that shaped her life and two-decade career. From childhood freedom by a river in Butterworth, to the night a friend unknowingly led her to the rest of her life, to the grief she still carries - this compilation of memorable moments explores purpose, vulnerability, and the spiritual weight of mu...

What happens when the life you build refuses to follow a pattern? South African writer, creative consultant, talent manager and producer Mahlatse James joins Kojo Baffoe for a conversation about fashion, identity and finding your way through a creative life. From growing up in Lebowakgomo and attending school in Polokwane to navigating Johannesburg’s fashion and media spaces, Mahlatse reflects on...

In these Memorable Moments from Episode 92, former Bafana Bafana, Kaizer Chiefs and Sundowns legend Brian Baloyi reflects on the emotional rollercoaster of goalkeeping, the broken systems holding back black athletes and entertainers, and why retirement - not just in sports - is something we should all plan for. A conversation about failure, resilience, and leaving behind more than just money.

In Episode 147 of Listen to Your Footsteps, Kojo Baffoe speaks with Lebo Motswenyane, founder of Lucky No8 Concepts, about the relationships, decisions and unseen work behind event production. From her childhood in Khuma, Klerksdorp, to a Rotary exchange in the United States and a career spanning Levi’s and Speakers Corner, Lebo reflects on the experiences that expanded her world and helped her fi...

In this LTYF Moments from the very first episode of Listen To Your Footsteps podcast, I look back at memorable moments from the conversation with Papama Mtwisha, founder of the children’s clothing label Butter Pudding and the ‘Africa Your Time Is Now’ fashion brand. We trace the path from dreaming of being a housewife to becoming a fashion designer, fashion editor, and ultimately an entrepreneur w...

There was a piano in the Yenana home in King William's Town that was never meant for Andile. It was bought for his older brother - his mother hoped music might ground a son she feared the Struggle would swallow. It didn't. What it did do was give Andile something to pick the lock of, quietly, with a pair of scissors, every time his brother left for his lessons. Thirty years after we first...

 South African artist Msaki traces the moments that shaped her creative journey — from dismissing her own gift as a teenager, to leaving university after hearing music in the dark room, to stepping back from performance to protect her heart. Across ten memorable moments, she reveals why creativity comes from overflow rather than barrenness, how collaboration means inviting others into your weaknes...

In Episode 145 of Listen to Your Footsteps , Kojo Baffoe speaks with Tshiamo Maremela, founder of A Very Cool Studio, about the journey from a curious childhood in Wedela to art, media, cultural strategy and business leadership. Tshiamo reflects on the different selves we show the world, leaving university with a portfolio rather than a degree, and learning to lead while grieving the loss of a men...

A powerful shift in language changes everything. In this LTYF Moments, sangoma and author Nokulinda Mkhize explores how swapping the word "sacrifice" for "investment" transforms not just how we think, but how we feel about the choices we make particularly in our relationships and in raising a family. Check out the full episode.

What does it mean to build a life in music when the world tells you to choose something more certain? In this episode of Listen to Your Footsteps , Kojo Baffoe sits down with celebrated South African bassist, composer, bandleader, producer and educator Concord Nkabinde . From his earliest memories of church music and family harmonies in Soweto to a career shaped by jazz, curiosity, collaboration a...

From hip hop's entrepreneurial spark to forging his dad's signature to chase a dream, Fortune Masina reflects on the moments that shaped him - his mother's quiet creative power, the grace of growing up, and the wisdom that "this too shall pass." A meditation on staying true to yourself while embracing the people who make you better. Check out the full episode with Fortune Mas...

The most valuable asset in marketing is not data, budget or reach, but the willingness to actually see people. In Episode 143 of Listen To Your Footsteps, Kojo Baffoe sits down with Kgaugelo Maphai - seasoned marketer, entrepreneur and founder of Matrix Communications Group - for a conversation that moves from a nomadic South African childhood to the boardrooms shaping how the continent talks to i...

In this selection from Listen To Your Footsteps , Alistair Mokoena reflects on the influences that shaped him: growing up between entrepreneurship and academia, learning to see skills beyond formal job titles, and using tangible examples to turn ambition into action. He speaks candidly about leaving corporate, discovering the limits of being positioned as a freelance “resource,” and recognising th...

She arrived at Rhodes University in 1994 unable to properly speak English, and left having discovered she was Black. Jacqueline Rainers-Setai grew up in the Northern Areas of Gqeberha, in a community that was never told it lived in a township. She has spent two decades deciding what South Africa watches — part of the pioneering drama Soul City, commissioning for SABC 2 as the Content Hub was forme...

Sizakele Marutlulle reflects on learning to be a student again, allowing curiosity to lead, and why a meaningful personal brand begins not with followers, filters or packaging—but with the content of your character. As she puts it: if we were meant to focus only on doing, we would have been called human doings. Watch this LTYF Moment for a thoughtful reminder to follow what interests you, embrace...

What does it mean to make a photograph that holds more than a moment? In this episode of Listen to Your Footsteps , Kojo Baffoe sits down with Soweto-born documentary and commercial photographer, photographic artist and printmaker Andile Bhala . Their conversation moves through memory, music, football, bicycles, fatherhood, creative process and the responsibility of documenting the places and peop...

We're looking back on some of our favorite moments from past episodes. The ones that made us pause, reflect, and feel something. In this highlight reel, Zoë Modiga opens up about humanising her father, the beautiful memory of stealing her grandfather's pens, the childhood dentist visit that almost became a career, trusting intuition as a creative compass, why she'll always be an "...

Simmi Areff wants one thing on the record first: he is a comedian. The podcast pioneer, the group head of audio and video, the man who produces Trevor Noah's podcast, all of it comes after the microphone. In episode 140, Kojo Baffoe speaks to the comedian and podcaster who built South African podcasting before most people could define the word. From Ike's Bookshop in Durban and a father deeply ent...

In this Memorable Moments clip from Listen To Your Footsteps, RJ Benjamin shares how Trevor Noah once came to him for vocal coaching long before global fame — a connection that later led to RJ collaborating with comedian Kagiso Lediga on a Netflix comedy-musical. He also reveals the deeply personal truth behind one of his most loved songs, originally written about his father before industry pressu...

What does it take to turn curiosity into culture, and culture into a lasting legacy? In Episode 139 of Listen to Your Footsteps , Kojo Baffoe sits down with Osmic Menoe - South African hip-hop pioneer, cultural organiser and creative entrepreneur - for a candid conversation about growing up in deep Soweto and building a life through hip-hop. Osmic reflects on childhood astronomy, long school journ...

Memorable moments from the conversation with Taryn Gill. From leaving a conventional career to creating a business rooted in African beauty, instinct and community, Taryn shares what it really feels like to step into the unknown. It is terrifying, thrilling—and sometimes both at once. Her reminder is simple: courage is not the absence of fear. It is doing the work despite it. And when doubt arrive...

Dr. Lesley Mofokeng - academic, journalist, and author - sits down with Kojo Baffoe to trace a life built on curiosity. From dreaming of being a bus driver in a dusty village outside Mafikeng, to breaking into the Sunday Times newsroom in the mid-90s, to writing bestselling books on Khanyi Mbau and Somizi, Lesley's path eventually turned inward — toward his own grandfather, a Dutch Reformed Ch...