Veteran singer, Angelique Kidjo, has disclosed that she is originally from Nigeria.
In an interview on Smooth FM in Lagos, the five-time Grammy Awards winner explained that she is originally from Iseyin, a town in Oyo State, Nigeria, according to what her mother told her.
The legendary singer, who was born in Ouidah, Benin Republic, added that she has a lot of relatives in Nigeria even though she doesn’t visit them often.
“My Mum told me that I am from Iseyin, because when my grandfather’s great great great great father came back from Brazil, they found their roots in Iseyin.
“From my mother’s mother’s side, we have always been from Nigeria, so we have families in Abeokuta. Ibadan, Lagos, everywhere, I have cousins I haven’t seen a million years that I miss a lot.”
Angelique added that she has a busy schedule that her 29-year-old daughter, Naima, complains about.
“I have a hectic life, my own daughter just told on the phone yesterday ‘okay, when are you coming back home’, and I said not before November … and she said ‘don’t forget you have a daughter though,” the 61-year-old musician said.
On her love for the continent of Africa, she established she was not only about singing about the beauty of the continent, however, showing the happiness the people of Africa radiate.
“It’s just that I love to sing. I love to bring Africa to the world. The beauty of Africa, not the music that people are very content about seeing and talking about. Africa is not about that because I grow up in a country that is poor but people were very happy.”
Angelique further submitted that she wants the world to see how powerful African women are. “The women of Africa are the backbone of this continent and they are beautiful. So, I want the world to see that.”
With five Grammy Awards and multi-million dollars performance deals all over the world, Kidjo is arguable Africa’s mist successful female artiste of all time.
The prolific lady who featured in Kunle Afolayan’s 2016 flick, The CEO, picked her fifth Grammy award last week, beating Nigeria’s Femi Kuti and Wiz Kid, among others, to the coveted prize.
