Angélique Kidjo Biography

Angélique Kidjo whose real name is Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo is a Beninese-American singer-songwriter, actress and activist.

Angélique Kidjo Early Life

She was born in Ouidah, Benin. Kidjo’s father is from the Fon people of Ouidah and her mother from the Yoruba people. Kidjo grew up listening to Beninese traditional music, Fela Kuti, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, James Brown, Manu Dibango, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, Osibisa and Santana. At the time she was six, Kidjo was performing with her mother’s theatre troupe, giving her an early appreciation for traditional music and dance.

Angélique Kidjo Career

Kidjo started singing in her school band, Les Sphinx and found success as a teenager with her adaptation of Miriam Makeba’s “Les Trois Z”, which played on national radio. Kidjo recorded the album Pretty with the Cameroonian producer Ekambi Brilliant and her brother Oscar. That featured the songs “Ninive”, “Gbe Agossi” and a tribute to the singer Bella Bellow, one of her role models. The success of the album allowed her to tour all over West Africa. Continuing political conflicts in Benin prevented her from being an independent artist in her own country and led her to relocate to Paris in 1983.

She is noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. Time magazine has called her “Africa’s premier diva”. The BBC has included Kidjo in its list of the African continent’s 50 most iconic figures. Guardian has listed her as one of its Top 100 Most Inspiring Women in the World and Kidjo is the first woman to be listed among “The 40 Most Powerful Celebrities in Africa” by Forbes magazine.

The Daily Telegraph in London described her as “The undisputed queen of African music” during the 2012 Olympic Games River of Music Festival. March 2013, National Public Radio (NPR) in America, called her “Africa’s greatest living diva”. She is listed among the “2014 Most Influential Africans” by New African magazine and Jeune Afrique.

The Forbes Afrique put Kidjo on the cover of their “100 most influential women” issue in 2015. June 6, 2013, Kidjo was elected vice-president of the Confédération Internationale des Sociétés d´Auteurs et Compositeurs (CISAC). She now resides in New York City, where she is an occasional contributor to The New York Times. Kidjo has received Honorary Doctorates from Yale University, Berklee College of Music and Middlebury College.

Kidjo is the 2018 Harvard University Jazz Master In Residence. Kidjo’s musical influences include the Afropop, Caribbean zouk, Congolese rumba, jazz, gospel, and Latin styles; as well as her childhood idols Bella Bellow, James Brown, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Celia Cruz, Jimi Hendrix, Miriam Makeba, and Carlos Santana.

Kidjo sings in all of them, and she also has her own personal language, which includes words that serve as song titles such as “Batonga”. “Malaika” is a song sung in the Swahili language. She often uses Benin’s traditional Zilin vocal technique and vocalese. She is the recipient of the 2015 Crystal Award given by the World Economic Forum of Davos in Switzerland and has received the Ambassador Of Conscience Award from Amnesty International in 2016. She also is included in the exhibits at the National Museum of African American History that opened on Sept. 24, 2016, on the National Mall.

Angélique Kidjo Age

Kidjo was born on 14th July 1960 in Cotonou, Benin. She is aged 59 years as of 2019.

Angélique Kidjo Net Worth

The singer-songwriter and activist has a net worth of $5 million.

Angélique Kidjo Husband

She married to her lovely French musician and producer Jean Hébrail in 1987. The couple’s daughter Naima was born on March 29, 1993.

Angélique Kidjo Remain In Light

It was released on June 8, 2018. She has partnered with producer Jeff Bhasker (Rihanna, Kanye West, Harry Styles, Bruno Mars, Drake, Jay-Z) to create Remain In Light – a new project that finds the Benin-born artist reclaiming rock for Africa, bringing Talking Heads’ landmark 1980 album full circle. That record is a track-by-track re-imagination of the original, considered to be one of the greatest albums of the ’80s and deeply influenced by music from West Africa, notably Fela Kuti’s afrobeat.

With her version of Remain In Light, Angélique celebrates the genius of Talking Heads, Brian Eno and the touchstones that made the original so revered and injects it with her euphoric singing, explosive percussion, horn orchestrations and select lyrics performed in languages from her home country. Remain In Light features appearances by Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend, Blood Orange, Tony Allen, Antibalas Horns, Angélique’s longtime guitarist Dominic James, and Magatte Sow (percussionist for the ‘Black Panther’ film score). Visual artist Kerry James Marshall created the album artwork.

Angélique Kidjo Albums and TV Shows

• Pretty(1981)
• Ewa Ka Djo (Let’s Dance)(1985)
• Parakou(1990)
• Logozo(1991)
• Ayé(1994)
• Fifa(1996)
• Oremi(1998)
• Keep On Moving: The Best of Angelique Kidjo(2001)
• Black Ivory Soul(2002)
• Oyaya!(2004)
• Djin Djin(2007)
• Õÿö(2010)
• Spirit Rising(2012)
• Eve(2014)
• Sings with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg(2015)
• Remain in Light(2018)
• Celia(2019)

Soundtracks

Kidjo also recorded songs for various movies, TV shows, and documentaries, among them:

• Ace Ventura
• Bimboland
• Blood Diamond (film)
• Caro Diarioby Nanni Moretti
• Changing Timesby André Téchiné
• Krippendorf’s Tribe
• Le Code A Changéby Danielle Thompson
• The Lion King 2
• My Favourite Season by André Téchiné
• Pray the Devil Back To Hell
• Sahara
• Six Feet Under
• Streetfighter
• The Air Up There
• The Truth About Charlie
• The Wild Thornberrys Movie
• Who Does She Think She Is
• Without a Trace

TV shows

Kidjo has appeared on

• Later with Jools Holland
• Late Show with David Letterman in 2007
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2007
• NOW with Bill Moyersin 2002
• Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher in 2003
• CBS Early Showing 2007
• Austin City Limitsin 2015

She was interviewed by David Frost for Al Jazeera in 2008 and Christiane Amanpour for CNN in 2009, 2012 and 2014. She was the host of the Tavis Smiley Show on PBS in March 2010 and February 2014 and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in July 2010.

Angélique Kidjo Awards

• Prix Découverte RFI SACEM (France, 1991)
• Octave RFI (France, 1992)
• Prix Afrique en Creation (France, 1992)
• Danish Music Awards: Best Female Singer (Denmark, 1995)
• Kora Music Awards: Best African Female artist (Africa, 1997)
• Mobo Awardsfor Best World Music Act (UK, 2002)
• Médaille De Vermeil De La Ville De Paris(France, 2004)
• Africa-Festival Award (Germany, 2006)
• SAFDA African Pride Award (South Africa, 2006)
• Antonio Carlos JobimAward (Canada, 2007)
• A.A.C.P.Image Award for Outstanding World Music Album (USA, 2008)
• Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album(USA, 2008)
• Go Global World Music Award (Denmark, 2008)
• Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic(Italy, 2008)
• Commander of the National Order of Benin(Benin, 2008)
• Making a Difference for Women Award from the National Council for Research on Women (USA, 2009)
• AfropopHall of Fame (USA, 2009)
• Celebrating Women Award from the New York Women’s Foundation(USA, 2009)
• Premio Tenco Prizefor her entire singing career (Italy, 2009)
• On May 8, 2010, Kidjo was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Musicby Berklee College (USA)
• Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres(France, 2010)
• Grand Prix Des Musiques Du Monde De La Sacemfor her entire songwriting career (France, 2010)
• Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary World Music Album (USA, 2011)
• Prix Special de la Francophonie (Washington DC, USA, 2011)
• Champions of the EarthAward  (United Nations, 2011)
• BET Awards nomination for Best International Act: Africa (USA, 2011)

Kidjo’s Grammy nominations include the Best Music Video of 1995 and Best World Music Album for works completed in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2014 and 2015.

She is the 4th laureate of the Antonio Carlos Jobim Award (2007). Created in 2004 on the 25th anniversary of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, each year the award is given to an artist distinguished in the field of world music whose influence on the evolution of jazz and cultural crossover is widely recognized.

Frequently Asked Questions About Angélique Kidjo

Who is Angélique?

Angélique Kidjo is a Beninese-American singer-songwriter, actress and activist.

How old is Angélique?

Kidjo was born on 14th July 1960 in Cotonou, Benin. She is aged 59 years as of 2019.

How tall is Angélique?

Information concerning Angelique height is not yet revealed.

Is Angélique married?

She married to her lovely French musician and producer Jean Hébrail in 1987.

How much is Angélique worth?

Information Concerning Angelique’s worth is not yet revealed to the public.

How much does Angélique make?

According to her reliable Source, Angelique is not Available.

Where does Angélique live?

Information not known.

Is Angélique dead or alive?

She is alive and in good health. There have been no reports of her being sick or having any health-related issues.

Where is Angélique now?

Not Known.

Angélique Kidjo Twitter

Tweets by angeliquekidjo

Angélique Kidjo Instagram