Simmi Areff, Kgabo Legora & Aisha Baker, POC Podcasts
Simmi Areff, Kgabo Legora & Aisha Baker
Writer: Rutendo Nyamuda, Founder & Editor
Photographers: Michael Mbaya & Jeanine Keet
Three podcasters walk into a studio on a late spring afternoon in Johannesburg, South Africa, ready to shoot the November / December cover of “The Podcast Sessions” magazine.
Like family, each unique in personality, yet bound by the fact that their podcasts are all housed under the same company, People of Colour Podcasts(POC Pods).
The music plays, the photographer prepares his lens and adjusts light. And as the podcasters take to the stage it would be amiss not to pause for a moment to take in this historic moment that would result in a cover featuring: Simmi Areff (comedian and founder of POC Pods; Aisha Baker (lifestyle influencer and Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 recipient) as well as Kgabo Legora (content creator who has been the official content creator for Mi Casa for five years).
Having spoken to each podcaster, they have much to share on life, lessons and the liberty to be their true selves behind the mic. POC Pods was started by Simmi, who longed to see greater diversity and representation among the voices heard on the radio. His company now produces five shows including: "Lesser Known Somebodies"; "Baked, the Podcast", "Son of A Son"; "Pod off the Press"; "Short Fine Legs" and their latest offering "Open Wide Say 'Ah'".
With no official qualification in audio, Simmi says everything he’s learned from scratch.
“I learnt editing by myself, I learnt how to record - but of course those skills came to me when I was in radio but taking them to a podcast level is something different… I watched a lot of YouTube Videos, to be honest - the school of YouTube [is my] University - I am a Cum Laude [graduate] in that.”
One key aspect of holistically producing a podcast lies in making sure you have incredible audio - after all, it’s the business of audio.
“I always focus on having the best audio I could get [but] because of the lockdown I guess you have a lot more leeway. But if you don’t have a really good clear audio sound, people are just going to turn that off.”
The main thing that connects many people to a podcast are the hosts and joining Simmi on the cover are Aisha and Kgabo who are both trailblazers in their own right.
As an entrepreneur, wife and, mother who had already built a name for herself in the industry, Aisha initially needed some convincing of this new industry.
“It [podcasting] was a little bit foreign to me, not only because I didn’t see myself as a ‘radio’ personality but because I was nervous about letting out my true personality into the world. Unlike radio, podcasts are less planned and more real, there's always a little bit of anxiety attached to letting people get to know the real me outside of my social media presence. Now I am really proud and glad that I’ve gone on this journey with Simmi, it has empowered me in many ways but especially in being proud of the person I am outside of the online persona I’ve developed over many years.”
Aisha describes her podcast “Baked, the Podcast” as conversational and lighthearted with a strong focus on women. Her guests have included a number of prominent people such as Rachel Kolisi, Rabia Ghoor (founder of Switch Beauty) and by far her favourite guest - her husband Wayne Parnell.
“For selfish reasons, my interview with my husband has been my favourite. He was really open emotionally which is not easy for him. He has grown up being somewhat of a star from a young age so it's made him really guarded. I was proud hearing him get emotional about fatherhood. I also really loved interviewing my own father as it was both therapeutic for our relationship and motivational for the audience.”
Conversations around masculinity, vulnerability and fatherhood form the foundations of Kgabo’s podcast, “Son of a Son”. Kgabo describes his podcast as personal, as he draws from his own personal experiences and speaks about the things that are curious to him about the people he interviews. He always looks for the hook.
"In the first season I had Mo-T on the [podcast], he comes from a line and generation of trumpet players. His father was a trumpet player, his grandfather was a trumpet player and now he’s a trumpet player and they have been in iconic bands in the country. There’s always an underlying theme.”
As a father of four, one boy and three girls, living in South Africa where gender-based violence is prevalent, he feels that this podcast is incredibly important within these discussions.
“One of the things that pushes me to keep going in these conversations is, you never know what seed you’re planting in someone's mind or someone's conversation. I always think that even though I might not have the resources to go into communities or into homes and to equip men with what's needed to fight the fight, having these conversations is me playing my part in being part of the solution… One of the things that drove me to start this podcast was to make sure that we as men are intentional in our thinking toward how do we become better as men in society.”
Kgabo’s guest list includes the likes of J'Something, Austin Malema, and Mpho Popps. However, one interview that stands out for him is an upcoming episode with Mlamli Booi.
“He [Mlamli Booi] is a CEO of a state-owned company. He is twice my age and he’s the first guest that I’m going to have that is a father of young adults that are in their young 20s. Most of the guests I’ve had have been fathers of toddlers or teenagers, he’s old enough to be my dad. That conversation was the most refreshing as I had a lot of questions and it was a bit emotional as it’s the first time that I spoke to someone that felt like a father-figure.”
Based on his personal podcast journey, Kgabo would encourage people to start their own podcasts. His advice is, “Find your niche, work on your voice, work on your content, use any and all platforms that you have available to reach the audience you want to reach”.
Aisha also believes that despite the podcast boom, there is always room for more.
“I think more conversations need to be aired from a South African perspective, especially in a nation so divided, conversations allow us to learn and find similarities in one another, starting a podcast is really not as challenging as it may seem,” she says.
With five successful shows under his wing, Simmi continues to keep his eye on the prize.
“My vision is to find more diverse talent and hear their stories. I love a good story and I think one of the things that I’m really good at is crafting a story and listening to other people’s stories and finding ways of how to share them with the world. I think there are so many great stories out there from different people and it’s exciting to hear something new.
If there’s anything to be learnt from Simmi, Aisha and Kgabo it’s that there are no rules. Don’t ask for permission to turn on the mic, press record, and produce a podcast.
“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
