Listen To Your Footsteps

Before he became one of the most respected voices shaping South Africa’s music ecosystem, Refiloe Ramogase was a boy in a Catholic school uniform learning discipline, structure and the emotional silence that often comes with it. His path moved through political science dreams, economic pressure, call centre shifts, artist management battles and industry boardrooms. Along the way, he learned that l...

Siphiwe Mhlambi ’s story begins with rupture. Abandoned as a child, raised without answers, and left to assemble a sense of belonging from fragments, he discovered a camera at thirteen and found more than a hobby. He found a lifeline. A discipline. A language. And eventually, a world that would let him build himself, frame by frame. Today, Siphiwe stands as one of South Africa’s most respected doc...

From natural hair blogging before it was a movement to podcasting long before it was mainstream, Ntsiki Mkhize has spent her entire life arriving in spaces early . Today she is a social entrepreneur, author, speaker, mentor, and founder of Mentor , a global mentorship community for women navigating entrepreneurship, leadership, and social impact . But her story did not begin in boardrooms or ecosy...

Annicia Manyaapelo has spent her life shaping spaces where African creativity is seen, protected, and valued. As the founder of NichLuxe and creator of Women Who Collect , she is rewriting the rules of access, showing that art is not a gated world but a living archive of who we are and who we dare to become. In this expansive episode of Listen To Your Footsteps , Annicia reflects on: How childhood...

For more than three decades, Charl Blignaut has chronicled South Africa’s cultural heartbeat. As a journalist, editor, and critic, he has written the stories that have defined how we see ourselves, from underground movements to mainstream revolutions, from the birth of kwaito to the rise of amapiano, from the rise of representation to the reckoning of responsibility. In this deeply reflective conv...

From a quiet corner of Melville’s 27 Boxes, Sewela Langeni has built more than just a bookshop. Through Book Circle Capital , she has created a home for African stories and the people who love them; a space where conversation, curiosity, and connection meet between the shelves. In this intimate episode of Listen To Your Footsteps , Sewela reflects on: The journey of turning Book Circle Capital int...

From the curated chaos of the digital age to the quiet rooms of self-reflection, Tshiamo Modisane has learned that the real work of becoming is not about being seen; it’s about being known . In this intimate and reflective episode of Listen To Your Footsteps , Kojo Baffoe sits down with Tshiamo, a South African stylist, writer, and creative storyteller, to unpack the balance between visibility and...

From the streets of Soweto to the boardrooms of global creative collaboration, Wandile Zondo has walked, run, and cycled a long road toward sovereignty. As co-founder of Thesis Lifestyle , he’s spent two decades turning streetwear into a system; building not just a brand, but a movement that fuses fashion, community, sport, and social consciousness. In this powerful episode of Listen To Your Foots...

From the township of Alexandra to the grandest stages in the world, Kitty Phetla has redefined what it means to be a South African ballerina. Trained under the legendary Martin Schönberg , and now a celebrated choreographer, educator, and creative collaborator, Phetla has built her life around the belief that discipline is grace made visible . In this milestone 100th episode of Listen To Your Foot...

For over three decades, Pabi Moloi has been one of South Africa’s most trusted and recognisable voices. From her early days as a child performer to her years behind the microphone, she has grown up in the public eye, learning, unlearning, and finding her balance between light and loud.   In this introspective episode of Listen To Your Footsteps , Pabi opens up about what it truly means to be a lig...

From her beginnings as a quiet observer to leading Hayani Africa , a Pan-African creative talent agency, Tumelo Moema has built her career on the belief that “home” is not just a place but a system. With roots in broadcast and licensing at Primedia, Getty Images, and Shutterstock, she brings a rare depth of expertise to shaping the future of creative careers across the continent. In this powerful...

From a tent on the side of the roads to the Ubuntu Art Residency Village in Zanzibar, Reggie “The Nomad” Khumalo has lived a story where freedom, art, and Ubuntu are inseparable. Known for riding his motorbike across the continent with little more than his brushes and a belief in spirit, he has turned a life of motion into a movement of meaning. In this moving episode of Listen To Your Footsteps ,...

From the turbulence of a disrupted childhood to the global stage of the Venice Film Festival and the Emmy Awards, Joel Kachi Benson has lived a journey shaped by resilience, storytelling, and vision. Known for his groundbreaking VR documentary Daughters of Chibok, which brought the voices of mothers of abducted schoolgirls to the world, and Disney’s Madu , Benson has turned the camera into a compa...

From hip hop cassettes in Hammanskraal to founding one of South Africa’s most influential spoken word movements, Thabiso “Afurakan” Mohare has always treated poetry as more than performance; it has been a compass for life. As co-founder of Word N Sound, he has helped shape stages, archives, and voices that have defined a generation of poets. But his truest pivot has been personal: declaring himsel...

Chef Coco Reinarhz ’s story is written in flavour. Born into a family of restauranteurs and chefs - his grandfather and his mother - he tried to escape the kitchen for construction engineering, only to discover that cooking was not just passion, but destiny. In this episode of Listen To Your Footsteps , Chef Coco reflects on his journey from Eurocentric training in Belgium to building restaurants...

From her village roots in the Northwest to leading one of South Africa’s most creative production houses, Letitia Masina has built a life and career that embodies resilience, authenticity, and legacy. Having once walked the path of modelling, acting, and presenting, she made the conscious choice to step away from the spotlight and focus on what she truly loved: shaping stories, nurturing talent, a...

From the dusty fields of Alexandra to the stadiums of Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns, and Bafana Bafana, Brian Baloyi has lived the highs and lows of South African football. Known as Spider-Man between the posts, he now uses his voice and vision to teach lessons that go far beyond the game. In this powerful episode of Listen To Your Footsteps , Baloyi reflects on: Why football is life’s greatest...

For over two decades, Kurt Schoonraad has been a defining voice in South African comedy, a storyteller whose career thrived on sharp wit, keen observation, and an intuitive understanding of people. In this episode of  Listen To Your Footsteps , host Kojo Baffoe sits down with the Cape Town-born comedian, actor, and founder of the Cape Town Comedy Club to explore the unexpected twists and defining...

What happens when you lose your father just four months after becoming one? How do you continue to show up, day after day, in an industry that demands your image but rarely sees your soul? And how do you transmute decades of pain into presence, craft, and a deeper way of being? In this profoundly introspective episode of Listen To Your Footsteps , host Kojo Baffoe sits down with actor, producer, a...

In this soul-stirring episode of Listen To Your Footsteps , Kojo Baffoe sits down with creative entrepreneur and cultural producer Theresho Selesho for a masterclass in navigating life at the intersection of culture, commerce, and community . From his early days rolling cables in church to producing global music festivals and exhibitions, Theresho shares how a love for creativity evolved into a po...

What does it take to rebuild when your dreams come true, and still break you? In this profoundly moving episode of Listen To Your Footsteps , host Kojo Baffoe sits down with Caz Abrahams, a multi-hyphenate creative whose name lit up South African stages, magazines, television screens, and hearts, only to vanish at what looked like the peak. But Caz didn’t disappear. He was descending into the vall...

What happens when you refuse to fit into one box? When your life is not a single career path but a living, breathing ecosystem of music, fashion, media, and activism? In this rich, wide-ranging episode of Listen To Your Footsteps , Kojo Baffoe sits down with cultural entrepreneur, publicist, designer, and DJ Maria McCloy . Maria’s name has been synonymous with Johannesburg’s urban culture since th...

What does it mean to express yourself beyond the confines of job titles and creative labels? What happens when photography is no longer about the image, but about the connection it sparks? In this powerful episode of Listen To Your Footsteps , Kojo Baffoe sits down with multidisciplinary artist and cultural entrepreneur Rhulani Anthony Bila , also known as The Expressionist . A commercial photogra...

In this profound and quietly powerful episode of Listen To Your Footsteps , Kojo Baffoe sits down with Dr Sizakele Marutlulle , a creative strategist, leadership guide, brand thinker, educator, and diversity scholar, for a conversation that transcends labels and dives deep into the essence of human growth. What begins as a gentle reflection on bios, branding, and the evolution of personal tone slo...

In this stirring episode of Listen To Your Footsteps , Kojo Baffoe sits down with iconic South African singer, songwriter, and activist Simphiwe Dana, as she reflects on two decades of music, motherhood, loss, identity, and resilience. With trademark grace and searing honesty, Simphiwe offers insight into the making of a celebrated artist and a deeply personal reflection on womanhood, purpose, and...