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African Pop Music
Angelique Kidjo
| Benin
Booking-Agent:
Oliver Arnold
+49 30 261032928
oa@f-cat.de
Angélique Kidjo was born on 14 July 1960 in Ouidah, a small harbour town on the coast of Benin (which at that time was still called Dahomey). Born into the Petah tribe, Angélique was soon baptised Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kango Manta Zogbin (a name which, roughly translated, means 'the blood of a lantern will not light a spark').
Young Angélique, who grew up with eight brothers and sisters, was brought up in a highly creative environment. Her mother, Yvonne Kidjo, was a renowned choreographer and theatre director who ran her own business. As for her father, Franck, when he was not working in the local post office he would devote every minute of his spare time to his hobbies : amateur photography and playing the banjo. Angélique was in contact with a wide variety of cultures and musical traditions from an early age, and her parents actively encouraged their daughter to learn several languages. (Angélique's mother tongue is Fon, but she speaks several other languages, many of which she has featured on her popular albums).
Following in the Kidjo family footsteps, Angélique began singing and dancing with her mother's theatre troupe at the tender age of 6. The young prodigy used to accompany the troupe on all their extensive tours, performing all over West Africa, and by the time Angélique reached her 9th birthday she had already established an excellent reputation. Angélique would briefly abandon her theatre career, returning to the classroom at the age of 9, but two years later the young girl would take time off from her school studies to join her brothers' group, performing lead vocals with the Kidjo Brothers Band. Working with her brothers not only gave Angélique a new form of live experience, it also opened up her ears to a new kind of music. For her brothers introduced her to rhythm'n'blues and taught her to sing the latest Afro-American soul sounds - Angélique would soon develop a veritable passion for soul music, learning every single one of James Brown's greatest hits by heart !
By the time she reached her teens Angélique Kidjo was already a star in her local region, her on-stage charisma and her exceptional voice having attracted the young singer an impressive following of fans. Around the age of 15 Angélique began to concentrate on her songwriting, drawing a great deal of inspiration from the work of her greatest idol, the South African singing star Miriam Makeba. Angélique would go on to form her own group at the lycée, and soon began performing locally with her group known as Les Sphinx. Angélique's first big break came in 1979 when a local radio station invited her to perform one of her songs on a daytime show. Angélique, who was a committed anti-apartheid campaigner, chose to perform one of the songs she had recently written about Winnie Mandela and the political struggle in South Africa.
Since she broke the charts worldwide in the 1990’s with her albums Logozo und Aye and the singles Batonga und Agolo, Angelique Kidjo has achieved worldwide recognition as an international, African pop artist. She is not only one of the spunkiest, most electrifying performers in the pop world today, but she's also one of its most forward and creative thinkers, an artist whose mission has been to explore the relationships between diverse musical cultures. Her work has garnered her four Grammy nominations, has cross-pollinated the West African traditions of her childhood in Benin with elements of American R&B, funk and jazz, as well as influences from Europe and Latin America.
After Aye a trilogy of concept albums was released, Oremi (1998), Black Ivory Soul (2002) and Oyaya! (2004) that explored African roots in music from the United States, from Brazil and from the Caribbean. While she has steeped her music in the tribal and pop rhythms of her West African heritage, the Paris/Brooklyn-based Kidjo is ever crossing musical boundaries by blending a variety of styles. With her husband, Jean Hebrail, Kidjo penned 13 original songs in a variety of indigenous Caribbean styles, including salsa, calypso, merengue and ska. Kidjo sings the numbers in English, French and African languages Yoruba and Fon. Ultimately, it is the theme of interconnection and universalism being the glue to bind the disparate threads of the Unicef Ambassador’s music: “There’s only one humankind - I believe that to my gut”, Kidjo confirms.
Throughout her career, Angelique Kidjo has collaborated with a diverse group of international artists like Branford Marsalis, Santana and Gilberto Gil. Her duet with Dave Matthews on the song Iwoya, which appeared on her record Black Ivory Soul, was a critical success that helped diversify her fan base. Her brand-new album Djin Djin (EMI, to be released in Europe June 01st 2007) features again some well-known guests such as Alicia Keys, Peter Gabriel, Carlos Santana, Joss Stone, Ziggy Marley, Amadou & Mariam, Joy Denalane, Branford Marsalis and Josh Groban.
Live, Angelique Kidjo has performed hundreds of concerts throughout all continents. Her voice is amazing, and her energy on stage is unbelievable.
