Mzansi Wethu’s new reality series, "Ubizo", follows Lloyd as he helps South Africans decode messages from the ancestors.
In so doing, he helps individuals grappling with various issues find the answers they seek.
Everyone carries a different burden and the emotions weigh on them heavily. Lloyd tries to lighten the load and provide comfort.
He has an interesting journey, though.
Lloyd started out as a cameraman in the film industry. He had his eye on becoming a DOP (director of photography) one day.
Lloyd is the spiritual medium at the heart of Mzansi Wethu’s new reality series, "Ubizo".
Picture: Supplied
He says, ‘Just like everybody else, I thought my life was going to normal and I am not saying the life now isn't normal. I loved parties and I was good at what I was doing professionally. I wanted to be the greatest DOP. Storytelling was what interested me.”
However, he couldn’t ignore his gift and Lloyd had to make a decision..
Lloyd explains, “After a long time of enduring pain and hardship in my life, there was one step which I hadn’t gone through and that was going back to Durban Adams Mission, where my grandmother was born. I went to this house, a very old house, stayed there and this when I was shown the waterfall I was to go…”
That’s when his current journey began.
Although his mother knew of his gift before he came into the world, Lloyd only started noticing it as an adult. That was when he sought out the advice of a sangoma.
He reveals, “He was honest enough to tell me that what I was going through was indeed a calling.”
Interestingly, Lloyd is referred to as a modern medium.
He explains, “I let people call me or refer to me whichever way they want. But I think what makes people say that is how I do things. I DJ part-time, I am able to connect with a person using digital spaces eg. radio, TV, WhatsApp. I sometimes browse on Facebook and by looking at someone's picture I am able to tell them things.”
On landing "Ubizo" and what viewers can expect to see in the 13 episodes, Lloyd says, “I have always wanted a way to convey messages to people smoothly. Working on TV, I met up with a friend whom I trusted enough to start putting down a concept for a television show. This was after I had been doing a lot of radio reading (on YFM and Ukhozi FM)... and Ubizo was born.”
How does it work?
“A person gives me two surnames the maternal and paternal. I then connect with both sides and they connect with my ancestors and all of the message start being conveyed through me,” he reveals.
What are some of the frequent concerns of people and how do you relay messages back to them, especially when it isn't favourable?
He offers, “People always want to know what the future holds. Money, marriage and a good life. However one can come to me with a preconceived idea only to find that the ancestors have a different approach to it. It is then up to me to convey the message in the easiest way possible to the one consulting. But these messages are not always a comforting truth.”
Ubizo airs on Mzansi Wethu (DStv channel 163) from Saturday, April 11, at 7pm.