Five-time Grammy award winner Angélique Kidjo, who made history on Tuesday to become the first African musician to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, has told the BBC she wants to dedicate the accolade to the continent of her birth.
“This star is for all the continent of Africa. Because if I was not African, would I be here?” said the 66-year-old musical icon from Benin.
She reiterated her message, made at the ceremony in Los Angeles to mark her four-decade career, about the importance of Africans to the world of music.
“Without the blues brought by the slaves in America, there’s no R&B, there’s no rock and roll, there’s no soul music, there’s no jazz. All of it comes from Africa.”
Kidjo told BBC Focus on Africa TV that Africans themselves needed to appreciate what they had given the world, and nurture talent at home.
“Let’s celebrate our artists in their own right on the continent. Let’s give them visibility, strength, because music creates economy,” she said.
Most African artists – besides mega stars who have a global fanbase – struggle to make a living as they rarely get paid the royalties they are owed.
“We need to recognise our artists and create a system for them to make money on their continent and to participate also in creating jobs.”
As her illustrious career was immortalised in Los Angeles, Kidjo became emotional – wiping away tears.
“At that moment, I’m like, dad, mum, I wish you were here with me to see [this]” the songstress explained to the BBC.
“I couldn’t take the emotion. They were not here to taste the fruit of what they’ve created. How they have nurtured my curiosity, my love for music.”
Kidjo – who has taken African sounds to global audiences, blending influences from home with funk, jazz and pop – grew up in Benin and then went to Paris aged 23, citing oppression from the country’s then-communist government.
At her Walk of Fame ceremony, she was joined by other family, friends and stars such as Hollywood actors Willem Dafoe and Djimon Hounsou, who is also from Benin, and Nigerian musician Adekunle Gold.
The gathering was filled with singing and dancing in celebration of her career, which has included collaborations with big names such as Burna Boy, John Legend, Bono and Alicia Keys.
Her latest album, HOPE!!, was released earlier this year with tracks produced by Pharrell Williams, and collaborations with Ayra Starr, Quavo, Nile Rogers and Diane Warren.
Kidjo has released 18 albums in total and has been nominated for 17 Grammy awards, which she has won five times.
She also won the 2023 Polar Music Prize, and two years earlier was named as one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People.
“She is without a doubt the hardest working woman in showbusiness,” Dafoe said at the ceremony.
“The first time I saw Angélique perform live, I thought her music, her dancing, her commitment were incredible.”
The Spider-Man star likened her energy to that of soul singer James Brown, who he called the “hardest working man in showbusiness”.
“She’s not only an incredible performer… songwriter and musician, but also an incredibly kind and giving person and a real deal activist.”
Kidjo is a Unicef and Oxfam goodwill ambassador, and is the co-founder of the Batonga Foundation, which helps vulnerable young girls and women in Benin.
At the Los Angeles gathering she was also praised by Harvey Mason Jr, the CEO of Recording Academy – the organisation that also oversees the Grammy awards.
“She’s connected cultures, she’s crossed borders, she’s reminded audiences everywhere that while we may come from different backgrounds, her music unites in a way that few other things can,” he said.
During her interview with the BBC, the musician’s phone kept ringing with those wanting to congratulate her.
“Yesterday I received the call of the president of Benin,” she said.
“Today I received the call of Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, the producer of Bob Marley, the maker of U2 and so on and so forth.”
Kidjo explained how fundamental Blackwell, who signed her in the 1990s, had been to her success – launching her breakthrough album Logozo.
“I said to him at that moment… ‘Can I do the music I want to do and keep my cultural identity without anyone imposing any other music on my shoulder?’ He said… ‘It’s no brainer.'”
Kidjo joins Charlize Theron, a white South African actress, in representing Africa on the Walk of Fame, which comprises more than 2,800 stars.
She said she was amazed to hear a year ago that she had been nominated for a Hollywood star, telling Focus on Africa she did not believe the news given to her by her husband until she said she had seen it on the BBC.
And when asked about the significance of becoming the first African musician with a star, she replied: “Changes that last take time.”
Credit: BBC
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