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Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo[; born July 14, 1960/ is a Beninese-French singer-songwriter, actress and activist noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. Kidjo was born into a family of performing artists. Her father was a musician, and her mother worked as a choreographer and theatre director. Kidjo has won five Grammy Awards. She is a 2023 Polar Music Prize laureate.
In 2007, Time magazine called her "Africa's premier diva." She performed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on July 23, 2021. On September 15, 2021, Time included her in their list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Angelique Kidjo has collaborated with many artists including Bono, John Legend, Jimmy Buffett, Peter Gabriel, Alicia Keys, Carlos Santana, Josh Groban, Philip Glass, Sting, Ziggy Marley, Yemi Alade, Burna Boy and Davido.
Her album Logozo is ranked number 37 in the Greatest Dance Albums of All Time list compiled by Vice magazine's Thump website.
Kidjo is fluent in five languages: Fon, French, Yorùbá, Gen (Mina) and English. She 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. Kidjo often uses Benin's traditional Zilin vocal technique and vocalese.
She 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 was played on national radio. Kidjo recorded the album Pretty with the Cameroonian producer Ekambi Brilliant and her brother Oscar. It 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
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By Kagame Karekezi Fred, MBA.
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