In an expansive career marked as much by extraordinary musical achievement as passionate advocacy and philanthropy for her homeland of Africa, Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and performer Angélique Kidjo has found many ways to celebrate the rich, enlightening truth about the Africa’s women beyond the media spotlight.
Ms. Kidjo’s accolades include a 20 year discography, thousands of concerts around the world and being named “Africa’s premier diva” (Time Magazine) and “the undisputed Queen of African Music” (Daily Telegraph). Kidjo’s 2008 recording Djin Djin won a Grammy for Best Contemporary World Music Album, and her next studio recording Oyo was nominated in the same category. Her newest album, Eve, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard World Music charts. She has enjoyed a long history of notable collaborations with greats from the jazz and pop worlds—including Carlos Santana, Bono, John Legend, Josh Groban, Peter Gabriel, Branford Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, Roy Hargrove and Alicia Keys.
A UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2002, Ms. Kidjo is a passionate advocate for girls’ education and humanitarian causes. “Being Africa’s premier diva is not a crown that Kidjo wears lightly,” notes Time Magazine. “As an African, she says, she comes from a place with problems. But as a musician, she argues, she can solve them.”
Ms. Kidjo is also the co-founder of the Batonga Foundation, which supports both secondary school and higher education for girls in Africa. “Young people are the hope of my continent,” she has said. “When I watch the children of Africa, all dreams seem possible.” For her advocacy, Kidjo has been named among the “Forty Most Powerful Celebrities In Africa” by Forbes Magazine, one of fifty African icons by the BBC, and among the world’s 100 most inspiring women by the Guardian.
Ms. Kidjo grew up in Benin and is fluent in four languages—French, English, Yorùbá, and Fon—and sings in all four. NPR notes, “The power of Kidjo’s unflappable voice, the range of her emotional expression, the stellar, genre-bending musicians who back her and the infectious, activist energy that courses through her songs all transcend any native tongue.” In August 2008, she received Benin’s Commander of National Order of Merit for loyal services to the nation.