Listen To Your Footsteps Podcast Por Kojo Baffoe | Zebra Culture arte de portada

Listen To Your Footsteps

Listen To Your Footsteps

De: Kojo Baffoe | Zebra Culture
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 Welcome to the Listen to your Footsteps podcast. My name is Kojo Baffoe. Over the last 20+ years, I have worked in a variety of industries including as a TV researcher and producer, editor of 3 magazines, and host of a radio talk show. I am a writer, storyteller, content strategist and author of the book Listen To Your Footsteps, a collection of essays, reflections and poems focused particularly on fatherhood, being raised by my father, identity and loss. In this podcast I explore art, culture, design, business and life from an African perspective.880426 Ciencias Sociales
Episodios
  • Vusumzi Ngxande, Stories My Name Never Told

    Vusumzi Ngxande, Stories My Name Never Told
    May 22 2025
    In this unforgettable episode of Listen To Your Footsteps, host Kojo Baffoe welcomes writer, designer, and multidisciplinary storyteller Vusumzi Ngxande into an intimate and reflective conversation that traces the invisible lines between identity, language, lineage, and healing.What happens when your name holds stories that even you do not fully know? What does it mean to belong to a family history that has been severed, renamed, or forgotten? And how do you begin to reconnect with the ancestral rhythm of your own becoming?These are the questions Vusumzi dives into and generously explores as he shares his personal journey of cultural reclamation, spiritual growth, and creative awakening. “I didn’t choose to tell stories,” he reflects, “I just started trying to make sense of myself.”The episode weaves through his childhood experiences, his discovery of spirituality through ancestral dreaming, and his gradual reconciliation with a fractured family name. Raised primarily by women and the cadence of prayer, Vusumzi speaks about the quiet power of matriarchs, the violence of displacement, and the silence around identity that shaped his early life.From his years as a student of design to becoming a published author, photographer, podcaster, and emerging creative force, Vusumzi speaks to the discomfort and necessity of self-excavation. “Sometimes it is the silence that holds the loudest truth,” he says. His insights on masculinity, vulnerability, and healing challenge social expectations while also creating space for listeners to re-evaluate their own journeys.Kojo and Vusumzi discuss the intersections between language and belonging, particularly how isiXhosa and its ceremonial use unlocked deeper connections to self. They reflect on the creative tension between tradition and individual expression, and the courage it takes to move forward while honouring where you come from.This conversation is a meditation on the messy, beautiful, often painful process of becoming. It is a quiet yet powerful call to listeners who are trying to navigate personal transformation, ancestral memory, or cultural complexity, especially those who feel like they have never quite fit into the boxes the world offers.If you’ve ever questioned your origins, struggled to name your pain, or wondered where the stories inside you come from, this episode will meet you where you are. It is an invitation to stand at the intersection of memory and meaning and to walk forward, even when the path is unclear.Expect moments of stillness, clarity, and goosebump-inducing truths. Expect to be moved.Listen to this episode if you are:• Exploring your identity, name, or family history• Curious about African spirituality and ancestral wisdom• An emerging creative trying to make meaning from your personal story• A man seeking to redefine masculinity through softness and presence• Interested in the politics of language, culture, and self-expressionKey moments include:• The symbolic and emotional weight of a surname• Learning to embrace ceremony as creative clarity• How matriarchal guidance shaped his worldview• Naming the trauma of disconnection and dislocation• Holding grief, healing, and hope in the same breath Quotable insight:“I didn’t know what I was carrying until I started writing it down. Then the pages started to feel like home.”This episode is a mirror. A memoir in conversation. A stillness that stirs something in you.Listen, share, and be still to experience the full story.You can find the latest from Vusumzi on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠ and X or check out thokozadlozi For more on my book Listen To Your Footsteps, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://kojobaffoe.com/book/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe: To Watch/Listen now⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Zebra Culture Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ now.Recorded at Spotify Africa Joburg StudioShow Music by Kweku 'Taygo' BaffoeProduced by Ayob Vania
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    1 h y 40 m
  • Shaldon Kopman, Wearing Wisdom, Stitching Memory

    Shaldon Kopman, Wearing Wisdom, Stitching Memory
    May 15 2025
    In this rich and reflective episode of Listen To Your Footsteps, Kojo Baffoe sits down with renowned designer, stylist, and creative director Shaldon Kopman, founder and creative director of Naked Ape, for a conversation that is as layered as the garments he creates. Titled Wearing Wisdom, Stitching Memory, this episode weaves together the threads of personal identity, cultural heritage, global exposure, and the purpose of creativity in a constantly shifting world.From the moment Shaldon speaks about his first steps into the fashion world as a model in Paris during apartheid-era South Africa, it becomes clear that his path was never conventional. “All I wanted to do was leave South Africa,” he says, describing how he wandered the streets of Paris with a metro pass, educating himself on art and style by walking through museums, observing people, and absorbing energy. This self-guided journey became the foundation for a creative voice rooted in purpose and introspection.But this episode is about more than just fashion. It is about memory. It is about land. It is about stitching the past to the present in a way that carries wisdom forward. Shaldon explores his deep connection to storytelling and how his brand is a response to the colonial gaze and the commodification of culture. “We were always somebody else's version of what they thought Africa was,” he shares. Through Naked Ape, he challenges that by creating work that is deliberately African, proudly rooted in craft, and reflective of the continent’s depth and nuance.This episode also delves into Shaldon’s reflections on masculinity, fatherhood, and emotional maturity. He speaks candidly about personal evolution and the desire to be present as a parent and as a partner. In a world often driven by bravado and performative success, his thoughts on emotional literacy and authenticity are powerful. “I am learning to be okay with stillness. To create from truth, not urgency,” he says.You will walk away with a renewed understanding of what it means to build a creative life that is both authentic and sustainable. Whether you're in the fashion industry, a creative thinker, or someone on a personal journey of reflection and alignment, Shaldon’s voice offers valuable perspectives and an invitation to slow down, to listen, and to remember.Shaldon Kopman, Wearing Wisdom, Stitching Memory is a rare, grounding conversation. It invites us to not only consider what we wear but to ask ourselves: What are we carrying? What are we honouring? And how can we show up in the world stitched in memory, clothed in intention?Listen now to experience the full story.Subscribe, watch/listen now on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠or wherever you find your podcasts. Leave a comment or review and join the conversation. You can find the latest from Shaldon on shaldonkopman.com, ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠or ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ For more on my book Listen To Your Footsteps, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://kojobaffoe.com/book/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Zebra Culture Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ now.Recorded at Spotify Africa Joburg StudioShow Music by Kweku 'Taygo' BaffoeProduced by Ayob Vania
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    1 h y 19 m
  • Melanie Bala interviews Kojo Baffoe, The Reflection Behind the Footsteps [Spotify Exclusive]

    Melanie Bala interviews Kojo Baffoe, The Reflection Behind the Footsteps [Spotify Exclusive]
    May 1 2025

    Kojo Baffoe, The Reflection Behind the Footsteps

    Legacy, loss, lineage and the grace of motion.A Spotify Exclusive Episode of Listen To Your Footsteps


    What happens when the storyteller becomes the story?

    In this once-in-a-season episode of Listen To YourFootsteps, poet, writer, thinker, and host Kojo Baffoe steps away from the mic and into the mirror. Sitting in the guest chair for the first time, Kojo is interviewed by veteran broadcaster and long-time friend Melanie Bala, in a conversation that is at once intimate, expansive, and profoundly human.

    Together, they trace Kojo’s journey from the mountains of Lesotho to the boardrooms of Johannesburg, from Olympic dreams dashed by injury to the quiet art of raising children, navigating grief, building a career without losing yourself and what it means to live a life that doesn’t fit neatly into boxes.

    This is not a typical biography or profile piece. This conversation dances between laughter and loss, vulnerability and strength, ambition and surrender.

    What You’ll Hear About:

    • How Kojo’s Ghanaian and German lineage, upbringing in Lesotho and life in South Africa shaped his sense of identity and belonging.
    • The emotional impact of a career-ending injury and how it redefined his sense of self.
    • His reflections on fatherhood and what it means to raise children in a world that’s constantly shifting.
    • Navigating freelance life, financial fear, and redefining what “success” truly means.
    • Honest moments about grief, including the loss of his father and his best friend, and how those shaped the man he is today.
    • What it means to trust the universe, especially when everything around you feels uncertain.
    • Why sometimes, the most powerful thing we can do is pause... and listen to our own footsteps

    “I’m not building a career anymore. I’m living a life.” - Kojo Baffoe

    “You don’t have to fill the void. You just have to learn to live with it.” - Kojo Baffoe


    Whether you’re at a crossroads, in a quiet storm, or simply curious about how to live a little more deliberately, this episode is an offering. A mirror. A soft landing.

    Listen To Your Footsteps is a podcast where African voices unpack the personal and professional journeys that shape who we are. This episode is a rare flip of perspective and a chance to walk a mile in the shoes of the man who usually holds space for others.

    ▶️ Watch now - only on Spotify.


    Subscribe and watch the video, exclusively on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    Leave a comment or review and join the conversation. For more on Kojo’s book, Listen To Your Footsteps, check out: ⁠https://kojobaffoe.com/book/⁠


    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Zebra Culture Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ now.


    Recorded at Spotify Africa Joburg Studio

    Show Music by Kweku 'Taygo' Baffoe

    Produced by Ayob Vania


    #ListenToYourFootsteps #KojoBaffoe#TheReflectionBehindTheFootsteps #MelanieBala #AfricanVoices #Identity #Fatherhood #Grief #Creativity #FreelanceLife #Legacy #PodcastRecommendation#SpotifyExclusive
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    1 h y 48 m
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