By Prudence Minayo
On 23rd December 2022, Lupita Nyong’o’s fans were excited when the award winning actress posted Selema Masekela on Instagram. The accompanying message suggested that the two were romantically involved.
So who is Selema Masekela?
Here is what WoK has gathered about the man who stole Lupita’s heart.
Family
He is the son of the legendary South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela and a Haitian mother. His half brother, Nathan Gonzalez, appeared as a contestant in the Survivor: Cook Islands.
Education and Career
Raised in New York, he attended Carlsbad High School. Living in California as a teenager, he took up snowboarding, surfing and skateboarding.
In 1992, he began interning at Transworld Publications, home of TW snow, TW Skateboarding, and TW Surf magazine.
During the 2003-2004 season, he was an NBA sideline reporter for ESPN. Until 2010, he served as a co-host of The Daily 10, a countdown of the top ten entertainment stories of the day. For more than a decade, he also hosted X Games and Winter X Games on ESPN.
During the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa, he worked for ESPN as a correspondent. He got the chance to visit his father’s homeland for the first time and Hugh took him to places where he was brought up.
This was featured in an ESPN series dubbed Through My Father’s Eyes. These series documented their father-son journey through South Africa.
Entering into a contract with Red Bull Media House, he left ESPN to work for NBC and NBC Sports Network. He was a feature reporter for Olympic Zone, during NBC’s coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
In 2015, he became a correspondent and executive producer on VICE, an Emmy Award winning investigative series. He also appeared as an actor on Point Break the same year.
In 2016, he was host and executive producer of Vice World of Sports, VICELAND’s documentary series. The series which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival explored people, politics and culture through sports in different parts around the world.
In 2018, he was featured on Uncle Drew and Sneakerheads in 2020.
Music
Masekela is also a musician having traveled the world with his father as a teenager. His band is named Alekesam, after his first film which demonstrated his relationship with his dad and their connection through music. The band’s music has been featured in House of Lies, Entourage and Showtime Hit.
He has also hosted various live events including Google Zeitgeist and YouTube’s Brandcast in New York and Paris.
In South Africa, he co-founded Mami Wata, which is a surf shop that designs and manufactures quality apparel, surfboards and accessories.
Social Initiatives
The 51-year-old is also a mentor of youths through sports and sits on the advisory boards of the Lunchbox fund. This is a non profit that provides meals to students of township schools in Soweto in South Africa
