The Almost Perfect Podcast

Ebenhaezer Dibakwane is a comedian and actor who has been on the rise for a minute now but it's been a hell of a journey to get to where he is today. Ebenhaezer grew up religious but found his life falling apart when he lost his faith. From suicide attempts to living on the streets, we get into some very real topics in this conversation. It's not all hectic though as Ebenhaezer has turned his tragedies into comedy and provides plenty of laughs and commentary on standup comedy between the realness. 

Follow Ebenhaezer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Our_Ebenhaezer

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Mojak Lehoko is a comedian, writer, actor, TV presenter, podcaster, and musician. Mojak started out his entertainment career in the rap game before transferring those skills to comedy stages around the country. For my money, Mojak is the best host in SA comedy and I know I'm going to have a good night if he's the MC. Through countless club gigs, multiple one-man shows, and becoming a familiar face on TV stations like MTV, Mojak has made an impressive name for himself but 2019 saw him questioning where he's at in life and his career.  

We get into Mojak's early days in the SA hip-hop and comedy scenes and how the skills he learned from rap translated to comedy. Then we get what made 2019 such a tough year for Mojak and where his head is at going forward. Mojak is a deep and honest cat so this one should leave you with a lot to think about.  

https://almostperfect.co.za/ep-52-mojak-lehoko/

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Eric Jansen is a lekker ou. That, and an actor and comedian. You've probably seen Eric on your TV screens as part of Trevor Noah's Nationwild on Showmax and as an Afrikaans soapy star on 7de Laan and Binnelanders. Only 5 years into game and Eric is already killing it. He's paying the price for his success though by being beaten up by grannies in the street for his role on 7de Laan. 

Eric is a laid back, funny guy who is easy to get along with so this conversation flows smoothly and is full of many laughs. While Eric goes through tough times like all of us, he tries to keep it posi and approaches life with an open mind. Learn what it's like to see your face on a billboard and how not to handle grannies in parking lots in this episode of The Almost Perfect Podcast. 

https://almostperfect.co.za/ep-51-eric-jansen/

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Muzi is a musician who was successful long before you (or I) knew who he was. The DJ, producer, singer, and recent father is starting to blow up in South Africa, but he's been making moves around the world for the better part of this decade. Muzi is the musician who I've interviewed the most in my career. His continued growth has been a beautiful thing to witness and is something I draw inspiration from, from time to time. 

In this episode, we get into going where you're wanted and finding your tribe by being yourself. We get into how Muzi's navigated the music industry and avoided most of its pitfalls by continually reinvesting in himself. We learn why Muzi dropped out of med school and how it lead to him diving headfirst into making music. We also talk about necessity being the mother of invention when a set getting shortened lead to a whole new element being added to Muzi's repertoire. There's a lot of advice here for up-and-coming independent artists of all industries but musicians, in particular, should enjoy Muzi's perspective on "The Industry" and his career.  

https://almostperfect.co.za/ep-50-muzi/

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Loyiso Madinga is a comedian, actor, writer, and MC who I'm pretty certain you're familiar with. Loyiso is one of four South Africans to have a half-hour special with Netflix as part of their Comedians of the World series, he's the African correspondent for Trevor Noah's Daily Show, has featured locally on LNN with Loyiso Gola and Bantu Hour, has two one-man shows under his belt, and stars in the upcoming Netflix original series Queen Sono with Pearl Thusi. He's achieved more than most in the SA entertainment industry but that doesn't mean everything is going great for him.

As you'll learn on this podcast, success can lead to self-doubt and insecurities that can be debilitating. While from the outside it looks like Loyiso has a career many would be jealous of, internally there are struggles that many of us will find relatable. This is a candid and open discussion about what success really means as a South African artist from someone who is well on his way to greatness but is scared he may never achieve it.

https://almostperfect.co.za/ep-49-loyiso-madinga/

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Nipho Hurd is a musician and entrepreneur. If you're a part of the Durban music scene, you've no doubt seen and heard Nipho, either on stage or in the crowd supporting other artists. Nipho puts herself and other artists she's passionate about on by organising gigs through her company In Your Backyard, and she pays some bills by helping you look fly for cheap with her thrifting company Tinz.  

We get into the difficulties of the Durban music scene whilst also looking at what's working and how Nipho is having an impact. We learn the somewhat seedy origins of Tinz and dig into what drives Nipho's entrepreneurial spirit.  We also get into some very real talk about depression and suicidal thoughts, so please consider this your trigger warning. 

https://almostperfect.co.za/ep-48-nipho-hurd/

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ByLwansta has had a rollercoaster of a year which is why the rapper/designer/art director is the first returning guest on The Almost Perfect Podcast. ByLwansta has taken himself out of his comfort zone and it's taken him around the world. 

We get into the differentiation between ByLwansta and Lwandile, how he's learning to collaborate more, and we learn how he got on Colors and has found himself travelling the world with his art. 

https://almostperfect.co.za/ep-47-bylwansta-returns/

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Russel Hlongwane is a cultural producer and creative industry consultant who has been quite busy behind, and occasionally in front of, the curtains of Durban arts and culture. Russel has been involved in a plethora of projects that have had varying degrees of impact, but what surprised me the most was to find out he's only been on the path of his current role for about 5 years. Russel is a deep thinker and one of my favourite people to talk to in general so it was only a matter of time before I got him on. 

We get into a myriad of topics from design, to culture, to race, and how they all intersect. Russel is endlessly fascinated and driven by the tensions at play in his own life and the world around him. It's a fascinating chat. Enjoy.  

https://almostperfect.co.za/ep-46-russel-hlongwane/

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Tasmin Naidoo is an illustrator and comic book creator. She's the creator of Avocat and his Gaucrocket and The Rusty Bolt - two very different titles that explore subject matter that you may find interesting: pessimism and bar fly stories. We chat about Tasmin's rural upbringing in the KZN midlands and how a childhood of reading books and drawing lead to her creating her own comics as an adult. 

We also get into "Con" life, being an outcast in school, why studying Fine Art wasn't for her, and the creative decisions that you sometimes need to make to put food on the table. 

https://almostperfect.co.za/ep-45-tasmin-naidoo/

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Matthew Rightford is a musician who creates music under the monicker of Albany Lore. Matthew's music is so smooth and groovy and just hits the right spot for me so he's been on my list for a while. He's recently released a track and video called 'Payphone' and has an EP about to drop soon, so we get into all of that as well as his musical upbringing, his love of South African Jazz and Nu-Age Kwaito, playing solo vs with a band, and we veer off into AI and Big Brother territory before bringing it back to the music. 

If you wanna know what it's like to grow up learning to play sax at SACS or the skills you can learn from getting a day job whilst you work on your craft, this one is for you.  

https://almostperfect.co.za/ep-44-matthew-rightford-albany-lore/

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