These are some obvious reasons Angélique Kidjo’s legendary legacy paved way for African musicians.
Angelique Kidjo is a name most Nigerians are familiar with, but little is known about her legendary legacy, she is as lively as she is enigmatic.
In this tale, we attempt to deconstruct Angelique Kidjo’s mythology using five facts about her.
When the Nigerian national football team has to play a qualifier against countries like Egypt, Tunisia, Ghana, or others, there’s always a palpable air of well-intentioned tension between the two countries, with Nigerians knowing in the back of their minds that these formidable teams are not to be taken lightly, even amid Twitter bants.
This has become the case for Nigerians every time a Nigerian musician performs with Beninoise singer Angelique Kidjo at the Recording Academy of the Grammy Awards.
Angelique Kidjo is a formidable vocalist with a string of accomplishments that dates back almost as far as the face of Nigeria’s music industry.
She has not only beaten Nigerian musicians on the global stage multiple times, but she has also been gracious enough to envelop the conceding musicians in the aura of her victory.
Despite the fact that her name has been mentioned multiple times, nothing is known about her colourful life and remarkable musical career.
In this story, we seek to deconstruct Angelique Kidjo’s reputation by examining five fascinating aspects of her life that serve as fun facts:
Angelique Kidjo was born on July 14th, over 62 years ago, in Ouidah, Dahomey, now known as Benin, to a musician father and a choreographer mother.
Angelique Kidjo grew up listening to Yoruba and Beninese traditional music and performing with her mother’s cultural troupe at the age of six, courtesy of her Fon father and Yoruba mother from Nigeria.
This had aided her entry into the realm of traditional music and dancing, and she soon began singing in a band at her school called Les Sphinx.
Kidjo’s fame grew quickly after the success of her rendition of Miriam Makeba’s “Les Trois Z,” which was broadcast on national radio.
Angelique Kidjo released her debut album, Pretty, in 1981, as a collaboration with Cameroonian producer Ekambi Brilliant and her brother, Oscar, following the success of her breakout hit.
The album included a homage to Bella Bellow, a Togolese musician, as well as other highly-received tracks.
Soon after, the CD was well-received not just in Benin, but also in neighbouring nations, and Kidjo toured extensively throughout West Africa.
However, due to political upheaval in Benin, she was forced to relocate to Paris in search of brighter pastures for her music.
Angelique Kidjo, affectionately known as Mama Africa, had earned this reputation over several decades, but her departure to Paris had proven to be a blessing in disguise, as it had been the catalyst for this movement.
Kidjo studied English in Paris, where she also studied jazz at the prestigious CIM.
She also met Jean Hebrail, a musician and producer who became not just her most frequent collaborator but also her husband.
It is now customary for the most commercially successful Nigerian performers to secure an international agreement, demonstrating their viability.
Angelique Kidjo embarked on her voyage several decades ago, beginning in Paris with Islands Records in 1991.
She made four albums with them before the founder left the company. Then, in 2000, she was signed to Columbia Records in New York.