Selema Masekela Opens Up About Hugh Masekela's Addiction Battle and Their Broken Relationship

• Selema Masekela sat down with ONE54 Africa to speak about growing up as the son of South African jazz legend Hugh Masekela
• Selema revealed that his father's addiction was so severe that he spent five years estranged from him and mentally prepared for his death
• The Emmy-nominated broadcaster also discussed surfing racism, cutting his dreadlocks, and his split from actress Lupita Nyong'o

Emmy-nominated broadcaster and longtime X Games host Selema Masekela sat down with the ONE54 Africa podcast in August 2026 for one of the most candid conversations of his career. Joined by two hosts in a warmly lit studio, Selema, who was also celebrating his birthday on 28 August, peeled back the curtain on a life shaped by exile, addiction, identity, and an extraordinary musical inheritance.

Hugh Masekela's addiction and their fractured bond

Selema spoke openly about the years his relationship with his father, South African jazz icon Hugh Masekela, was completely severed. "From, I'd say, like 25 to 30, I just didn't with him," he said, explaining that his father's addiction had become so consuming that he chose to emotionally bury him while he was still alive. "Let me just have this man be dead so that when he dies I've already got a head start."

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The turning point came when Selema's uncle essentially had Hugh kidnapped in South Africa, stripped him of his passport, and flew him barefoot to a rehabilitation house in the English countryside that had ties to one of the Beatles. Hugh was eventually forced to confront his demons without an escape route. When Selema first knocked on his father's hotel room door after five years apart, he had no idea who would answer. What he found was the man he had always loved. "We just picked back up from like our good," he recalled. The two spent the remaining years forging a bond Selema described simply as: "My dad became my best friend on earth, man."

Hugh Masekela passed away from prostate cancer in 2018. Selema was on a connecting flight in Amsterdam when his sister called to tell him his father had already gone, the news having leaked online before the family could speak privately. He sat in the air for 11 hours processing grief in real time, and then spent two months in South Africa managing four memorials and acting as the family's designated spokesperson for CNN, SABC, and international press.

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Watch the full ONE54 Africa conversation with Selema Masekela:

Viewers responded in the comments section

@akenaleina wrote: "You guys don't know the amazing work you're doing for the continent and the diaspora!!! These types of conversations (positive) are what will unite Africa and all it's descendants."

@keithramaila8183 said: "I like it when he imitates his dad; he speaks just like him"

@Ludada101 added: "His impression of Hugh is spot on"

@Ramzy-z7w wrote: "Selema imitates his father's voice so perfectly"

Source: Briefly News