The Almost Perfect Podcast

Simmi Areff is a comedian, podcaster, and maverick. The dude is living that Frank Sinatra life and doing things his way, and he's finding success doing so. His podcast Lesser Known Somebodies is one of the most popular in South Africa, and his one-man show Lesser Known Somebody was picked up by Showmax after being made for just R9k, so there are more than a few lessons to be learned from this one....

Sabelo Mkhabela is one of my favourite music journalists in South Africa. His knowledge and insight into hip-hop, and the way he breaks it all down, make him a valuable asset to the Okay Africa team. He's clearly very passionate about hip-hop, but it takes more than passion to cut it in as a music journalist in the click-bait era. We get into all kinds of discussion about hip-hop and local music j...

Lex LaFoy might be one of the deepest thinkers we've had on the podcast so far. This rapper, activist, graduate, mother, poet, and all-around dope person has just so much of herself to share. She's an eternal student who is constantly reading and learning and has a lot of interesting ideas of her own.  We get into so many different topics, from the difference between meditation and prayer to...

Mitch Harper is straight-up one of the most interesting people I know. He’s a multifaceted dude who has had a big impact behind the scenes in Durban. You might know him as the vocalist for hardcore band Life Below, or you might have known him when he was a journalist for IOL, but the work that Mitch made the most impact with was helping put together the Durban International Film Festival, Poetry A...

ByLwansta is straight-up one of my favourite artists in the country. This rapper, producer, designer, video editor, and now promoter is a kindred spirit in DIY and is an example of (relatively) successful self-sufficiency, although it's starting to weigh on him a bit. We get into the struggles of freelancing and being a DIY musician, whilst also looking at the potential value in letting others in...

Jamie de Bruin is a model and sports presenter on DYR 105.1. Ok, that's underselling her by quite a large amount. Jamie is Miss Junior South Africa 2016, Miss Africa South 2017, and Miss Africa Tourism World 2017- and she didn't even want to be a model in the first place. Growing up, Jamie was a tomboy who had a promising sporting career until life threw her a major curveball that changed her traj...

Get to know one of the most exciting musicians to be making music in Durban at the moment in today's podcast. Jaedon Daniel is a phenomenal young musician who literally just released his debut album, Hold The Game. You might know him from his band of prodigies, Blvck Crystals, or you might have seen him sessioning for other dope artists, but now it's time for Jaedon to take everything he's learned...

You’re getting a 2-for-1 special with today’s episode of The Almost Perfect Podcast. I sat down with comedians Richelieu Beaunoir and Yaaseen Barnes when I was in Cape Town for the first multi-person TAP pod, and it’s as chaotic and hilarious as you’d expect. Richelieu is a Comedy Central Roast Battle Champion and one of the true OGs of the Durban comedy scene, although he mostly applies his trade...

Today’s episode is with the artist formerly known as Skullboy, Louis de Villiers. Louis is an artist and graphic designer born in Richard’s Bay, bred in Durban, and currently living in New York. Well, he’s currently in Durban for a few days, which is how I got to sit down and speak to him, but you know what I mean. Louis has been back in SA for a few months to exhibit and do a few commissioned pie...

I'm going to assume you've at least heard of Lindy Johnson if you haven't yet seen her face on a billboard near you. Lindy is a rising comedy star who is currently on your TV screens (if you have Showmax) thanks to Trevor Noah's Nationwild, but she's been rapidly making a name for herself in the 2 years she's been doing comedy. Yes, just 2 years! Lindy is a naturally funny person who tak...

In today's episode, we learn that it's not what you say but how you say it with Altaaf Sayed. Altaaf is a comedian, strategy consultant, and promoter who is a straight-up addict for stage time. The guy is literally ALWAYS trying to get spots, so much so that he's set up his own rooms and even started busking on the streets of Cape Town. I appreciate his hustle and love of the craft of stand up com...

Thor Rixon is one of South Africa's musical treasures. He's an ever-evolving and truly unique character who creates impressive art that often resonates with me deeply and almost always leaves me moved in some way or another. I've written about him and his music a few times over the years but I'm really stoked we got to have this longer, more in-depth chat than we've had on the record before. I thi...

That's right, today I sit down with the man, the myth, the legend, Fuego Heat. If you're a Durban musician, you no doubt know Fuego Heat aka Ryan van Rooyen aka Right Hand Ryan (for those who have been around for a while). He's either been front row at your show, sold you a record or sold your record for you, or he's put you on stage so you can let your talent shine. He's a man who has been an int...

Neil Green is a comedian, radio host, and podcaster- so we have a lot in common. We actually co-host the Live from The Winston podcast together and have been good friends for a long time, so this isn't your standard interview but rather a candid conversation about the state of stand-up comedy in South Africa, coloured stereotypes vs representation, balancing corporate vs art, and his early days as...

Yeah, you read right. This week's guest is me. I rookied out and didn't get a guest in time for this week's episode, so I improvised and asked my adoring public/a few friends on Facebook to ask me questions to answer on this cast. It actually turned out pretty cool. There's a diverse range of questions and I tried to be as open and honest as possible. I feel a bit nervous to put this up because it...

In the first episode of The Almost Perfect Podcast I get to know Durban's comedy godfather, Carvin Goldstone. We dig into the early days of his comedy career, we discuss the pressures of his role in comedy, we learn a bit about his rap and journalism careers, and we find out what he gets from his parents. We also chat about his Comic's Choice Award wins this weekend and why he's not accepting them...