Sydney Baloyi started his career in broadcasting in the 90s, after a very short but successful stint as an English Teacher of which included an Educational Exchange Programme to Ohio University USA.
Upon his return he joined the now defunct Radio Thohoyandou, an English Language Radio Station which produced a host of broadcast talent who continue to contribute immensely in the industry. After that, he moved to Johannesburg and joined SABC-TV. With passion for his work, he excelled in a number of positions in front of and behind the cameras. Some of Sydney Baloyi’s pioneering work includes his production and presenting work on “Swahombe-Zwanthesa”, the first ever Television programme to be produced with Tshi-Venda and xi-Tsonga as languages of presentation or instruction. The programme became an overnight success as it offered these marginalized languages an exposure previously afforded only to few among South Africa’s official languages.
After “Swahombe-Zwanthesa” in the early 2000s, Sydney Baloyi worked as Assistant Director on the highly celebrated “Mnet Face of Africa” project. His work with “Face of Africa” took him to countries like Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria and Egypt. The experience left him with an insatiable appetite for travel, a pastime he continues to indulge in to this day. Countries and Cities that Sydney Baloyi has managed to visit include Dubai, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, New York, San Fransisco, Las Vegas, Mexico, London, Dublin, Monaco and many other interesting landmark addresses locally.
After “Face of Africa”, Sydney was invited back to SABC where he got immediately involved in two productions, the first was “MTN Soccer Zone”, a flagship soccer show that Sydney became part of for a period of four years. His roles there were script-writing and voice-overs. It is particularly in the latter that Sydney has made a name for himself in the industry. His voice has featured in more than 250 commercials including audio-visual presentations either for training purposes, in-house entertainment as well as special events such as awards ceremonies. Sydney also worked as a host on “Taxi2”, a unique Talk-Show concept for SABC2 where he brought all kinds of guests to deliberate on all kinds of subjects; all this was done inside a moving mini bus taxi from Johannesburg to Limpopo over a period of six months.
In 2007, Sydney finally got a chance to get back to his first love – Radio; and he’s been having a blast ever since, managing to build an endearing relationship with his listeners over the years. Phaphama (7am – 9am), is a two-man breakfast Show on Munghana Lonene FM, a show he co-presents with DJ Brian Rikhotso every morning weekdays. What’s unique about the show is the remote co-presentation with Sydney who is based in Joburg and DJ Brian who is based in Polokwane, but the two has perfected a fluent chemistry in their presentation style that their listeners can’t imagine one without the other.
Sydney also hosts a unique Jazz Show on Sundays (12 noon till 2pm) on the same radio station. Here you can easily stumble onto sounds of the likes of Sonny Stitt (USA), Peter White (UK), Richard Bona (Cameroon) and a host of our own Jazz maestros such as Dr Hugh Masekela, Abdullah Ibrahim and Jonas Gwangwa among others.
Along the way, Sydney has also had a chance to experiment with other Radio formats, in particular Talk-Format. Between 2009 and 2010, Sydney was offered an opportunity to host “The Talk-Shop” on SAFM. With talk as the only variable from start to finish, Sydney was able to bring to a national audience conversation subjects that allowed him to realize his dream of presiding over a Radio Show that made him feel like a complete broadcaster. His sterling work in all these years hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Sydney has won overall Best Presenter Title at Munghana Lonene FM each time the awards have been run since his arrival. This included his recent achievement of winning the coveted David Mpapele Award which coincided with the 50th Birthday for the station. Mpapele’s name is well documented in the station’s history as the first-ever voice to be heard on air when the station was launched in 1965.
