Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo[1][2][3] (/ˌɒ̃ʒəˈliːkˈkɪdʒuː,-ˈkɪdʒoʊ/;[4][5][6] 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.[7] Kidjo has won five Grammy Awards. She is a 2023 Polar Music Prize laureate.[8]
Her album Logozo is ranked number 37 in the Greatest Dance Albums of All Time list compiled by Vice magazine's Thump website.[12]
Kidjo is fluent in five languages: Fon, French, Yorùbá, Gen (Mina) and English.[13] 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.[16]
Paris
Due to political conflicts, Kidjo had to leave her home country and moved to Paris in the 1980s.[17] She initially planned to become a human rights lawyer, but ended up studying music.[17] While working various day jobs to pay for her tuition, Kidjo studied music at the CIM, a reputable jazz school in Paris,[18] where she met musician and producer Jean Hebrail, with whom she has composed most of her music and whom she married in 1987.[19] She started out as a backup singer in local bands. In 1985, she became the front singer of Jasper van 't Hof's Euro-African jazz/rock band Pili Pili. Three Pili Pili studio albums followed: Jakko (1987), Be In Two Minds (1988, produced by Marlon Klein) and Hotel Babo (1990). By the end of the 1980s, she had become one of the most popular live performers in Paris and recorded a solo album called Parakou for the Open Jazz Label. She was then 'discovered' in Paris by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, who signed her in 1991.[20] She recorded four albums for Island until Blackwell's departure from the label. In 2000 she was signed in New York by Columbia Records, for whom she recorded two albums.
Albums
Parakou
Kidjo's first international album Parakou, first released in 1989, was the beginning of a series of collaborations with producer and composer Jean Hébrail and featured Jasper van't Hof.
Logozo
Her first album for Island Records was recorded between Miami and Paris and produced by Miami Sound Machine drummer Joe Galdo and features Branford Marsalis and Manu DiBango on saxophones. It was released worldwide in 1991 and reached number one on the Billboard World Albums chart. Music videos for the singles "We We" and "Batonga" were released and Kidjo made her first world tour, appearing at many festivals and headlining the Olympia Hall in Paris on October 31, 1992. Logozo is ranked number 37 in the Greatest Dance Albums of All Time list compiled by the Thump website.[21]
Ayé
Released in 1994, the album Ayé was produced by David Z at Prince's Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis and by Will Mowat at Soul To Soul studio in London. It includes the single "Agolo", a song that addresses the issue of the environment, of which the video directed by Michel Meyer gave Kidjo her first Grammy nomination. Ayé does not focus on traditional African instrumentation such as using the kora or the balafon, but still has an overtly African undertone to it with Kidjo singing in Yoruba, a Nigerian language, as well as in her native Fon, often using the Beninese traditional zilin vocal technique.[22]
Fifa
Kidjo and Jean Hebrail traveled all over Benin in 1995 to record the traditional rhythms that would form the base for the Fifa album. Carlos Santana appears on "Naima", a piece Kidjo wrote for her daughter. The single "Wombo Lombo" and its video directed by Michel Meyer was a big success all over Africa in 1996. Recording: Benin, Paris (Guillaume Tell), London, Los Angeles, Sausalito Plant (Carlos Santana).
Trilogy
In 1998, she started a trilogy of albums (Oremi, Black Ivory Soul and Oyaya) exploring the African roots of the music of the Americas.
Oremi
Produced by Peter Mokran and Jean Hebrail, recorded in New York, Oremi is a collection of songs mixing African and African-American influences. Cassandra Wilson, Branford Marsalis, Kelly Price and Kenny Kirkland collaborated with Kidjo on this project. The opening track is a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child".
Black Ivory Soul
In 2000, Kidjo traveled to Salvador de Bahia to start recording the Axe percussion grooves for this album, based on Afro-Brazilian culture. She worked with songwriters Carlinhos Brown and Vinicius Cantuária. On the Brazilian version of the album Gilberto Gil joined her on "Refavela" and Daniella Mercury on "Tumba". Dave Matthews appears in the song "Iwoya".
Oyaya!
Produced by Steve Berlin from Los Lobos and by the pianist Alberto Salas, released in 2004, Oyaya! mixes Latin and Caribbean music with African guitars. The French Guyanese Henri Salvador, who was 86 at the time of the recording, joined Kidjo on the song "Le Monde Comme un Bébé".
Õÿö, released in Europe on January 18, 2010, and in America on April 6, 2010, pays tribute to the music of Kidjo's childhood in Benin. It mixes traditional music, Miriam Makeba's songs, classic soul of the 1960s and 1970s; including a song from the 1952 Bollywood film Aan, "Dil Main Chuppa Ke Pyar Ka." Dianne Reeves appears on Aretha Franklin's "Baby I Love You", Bono and John Legend on Curtis Mayfield's "Move On Up", for which Kidjo recorded a video[23] with the Fela! dancers and Roy Hargrove on Santana's "Samba Pa Ti." Produced by Kidjo and Jean Hebrail, the album was arranged in conjunction with the Beninese guitarist Lionel Loueke. Õÿö was nominated for Best Contemporary World Music Album for the 53rd Grammy Awards.
On January 28, 2014, Kidjo released a new album, Eve, dedicated to the women of Africa, to their resilience and their beauty: "Eve is an album of remembrance of African women I grew up with and a testament to the pride and strength that hide behind the smile that masks everyday troubles", Kidjo commented. She traveled to Kenya and Benin, from South to North and back, armed with a six-track field recorder, to capture the sweet rhythmic harmonies and chants of traditional women choirs. With the contribution of the Beninese percussionists from the Gangbe Brass Band, Kidjo laid the musical foundation of the album in New York with an ensemble of top session musicians—guitarist (and fellow Benin native) Lionel Loueke, guitarist Dominic James, drummer Steve Jordan, bass great Christian McBride—under the guidance of producer Patrick Dillett, a longtime collaborator of David Byrne. Helping the singer fulfil her vision on Eve was a host of exciting prominent newcomers to her musical circle, including guitarist and keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij from Vampire Weekend, Nigerian folk singer Aṣa on "Eva", legendary pianist Dr. John, who adds his New Orleans magic to "Kulumbu"; The Kronos Quartet and the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, The traditional Congolese song "Bana" features the vocals of Kidjo's mother Yvonne.
The album debuted at number 1 in the Billboard World Music chart.[24] The album Eve was rated No. 1 in the Top 12 of World Music albums for 2014 by Radio France Internationale.[25] Its opening track, "M'Baamba", featured in The New York Times' "Top 10 songs of 2014" list.[26]Eve won the Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album at the 57th Grammy Awards.[27]
Angélique Kidjo Sings with the Orchestre Philharmonique Du Luxembourg
On March 31, 2015, Kidjo released her collaboration with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra. The album contains orchestral versions of 9 songs from previous albums and two original songs: Nanae and Otishe. All the songs are arranged by Gast Waltzing and David Laborier and the orchestra is conducted by Gast Waltzing. The Australian newspaper noted: "Kidjo opens what's arguably her most ambitious album by paying homage to her heroine, Miriam Makeba. None of her three previously released versions of Malaika can match the majesty and grandeur of this latest spine-tingling rendition, which features the singer in superlative voice (in Swahili) backed by the strings and wind instruments of the 110-piece Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg. Elsewhere, the consummate guitar playing of Kidjo's compatriot Lionel Loueke and Brazilian Romero Lubambo augment conductor-trumpeter Gast Waltzing's sumptuous arrangements. Sultry flute and flugelhorn help Kidjo tease the nuances out of Carlos Santana's smouldering "Samba Pa Ti". In Fifa and Naima, swelling strings and soaring vocals follow tender cappella intros. In Loloye, the strings flutter like a flock of flamingoes as horns ascend like eagles. Female backup vocals lift Ominira and the previously unreleased Namae. A truly beautiful album, Sings combines the stately qualities of classical music with the coolness of jazz and the fervour of African and Brazilian rhythms.".[28] Tony Hillier of Rhythms Magazine described it as "arguably the most ambitious and spiritually arresting album the New York-based West African singer has recorded in a long and distinguished career."[29] The album won the Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album category.[30]
Kidjo's tribute to Cuban singer Celia Cruz was released on April 19, 2019. It is produced by David Donatien and featured Tony Allen, Meshell Ndegeocello and the Gangbe Brass Band. The Guardian called the album "magnificent",[33] and the Financial Times gave it 5 stars.[34] The album includes songs spanning all of Celia Cruz's career reinvented with an Afrobeat feel. Of the song "Quimbara", New York Times critic Jon Pareles says: "Backed by Michelle Ndegeocello on bass, the Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen on drums, Dominic James on guitars and the Gangbe Brass Band, Kidjo reconnects the salsa original to West Africa, layering the song with a tumbling six-beat rhythm, a brass-band undertow and a tangle of scurrying guitar lines while she belts with enough grit to rival Cruz herself."[35] Kidjo won the Grammy Award for "Best World Music Album" for Celia on January 26, 2020.[36]
Mother Nature
On June 18, 2021, the album Mother Nature was released.[37] It features many collaborations with young African producers and singers including Yemi Alade, Burna BoyMr Eazi, Zeynab, Shungudzo, Sampa The Great, Rexxie, African legend Salif Keita and French singer Matthieu Chedid. Music videos for the songs "Dignity", "Africa", "One of a Kind" and "Mother Nature" featuring Sting have been released. The Independent said: "the 15th album by Angelique Kidjo has the feel of a grand homecoming: celebratory and inclusive, with an acute sense of place and time".[38]TheSunday Times said: "the music ... is infectious ... the rhythms are a combination of modern and traditional fused with state-of-the-art production values. Kidjo's impassioned voice evokes memories of the great Miriam Makeba". The Financial Times called Mother Nature "a rallying pan-African collaboration"[39]
Memoir: Spirit Rising, My Life, My Music
With Rachel Wenrick, Kidjo has written a memoir entitled Spirit Rising. It was published by HarperCollins on January 7, 2014. Desmond Tutu wrote the preface and Alicia Keys the foreword. On the back cover, Bill Clinton is quoted as saying: "The only thing bigger than Angélique Kidjo's voice is her heart. In this evocative memoir, Kidjo chronicles an inspiring life of music and activism, and raises a passionate call for freedom, dignity, and the rights of people everywhere."[40]
Collaboration with Philip Glass: IFÉ
January 17, 2014, saw the premiere of IFÉ: Three Yoruba songs for Angelique Kidjo and the Orchestre Philharmonique Du Luxembourg conducted by Jonathan Stockhammer at the Philharmonie hall in Luxembourg. Philip Glass wrote the orchestral music based on three creation poems in Yoruba sung by Kidjo. In the program notes, Philip Glass says: "Angelique, together we have built a bridge that no one has walked on before."[41][42] The piece made its American premiere with the San Francisco Symphony to a sold-out crowd in the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall on July 10, 2015.[43]
Along with Mary Louise Cohen[44] and John R. Phillips,[45] Kidjo founded The Batonga Foundation, which empowers some of the most vulnerable and hardest-to-reach young women and girls in Benin with the knowledge and skills they need to be agents of change in their own lives and communities. Batonga accomplishes this by locating the most vulnerable adolescent girls in Benin and connecting them to girl-centred safe spaces led by Beninese women. These safe spaces provide young women and girls with training that allow them to gain new skills in financial literacy and build social capital.
She campaigned for Oxfam at the 2005 Hong Kong WTO meeting, for their Fair-Trade Campaign and travelled with them in North Kenya and at the border of Darfur and Chad with a group of women leaders in 2007 and participated in the video for the in My Name Campaign with will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas.
She hosted the Mo Ibrahim Foundation's Prize for Achievement in African Leadership in Alexandria, Egypt, on November 26, 2007, and on November 15, 2008, in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, on November 14, 2009, and in Mauritius on November 20, 2010. She hosted the "Africa Celebrates Democracy Concert" organized by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation in Tunis on November 11, 2011, and sang at the Award Ceremony on November 12, 2011, also in Dakar on November 10, 2012, Addis Ababa in November 2013 and Accra in November 2015.
Since March 2009, Kidjo has been campaigning for "Africa for women's rights". This campaign was launched by The International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH).
On September 28, 2009, UNICEF and Pampers launched a campaign to eradicate Tetanus "Give the Gift of Life"[46] and asked Kidjo to produce the song "You Can Count On Me" to support the campaign. Each download of the song donates a vaccine to a mother or a mother-to-be.
Kidjo has recorded a video based on her song "Agolo" and on the images of Yann Arthus-Bertrand for the United Nations SEAL THE DEAL Campaign to prepare for the Copenhagen Climate Change summit.
The Commission of the African Union (AU) announced on July 16, 2010, the appointment of Kidjo as one of 14 Peace Ambassadors to support the implementation of the 2010 Year of Peace and Security program.
She appears in the Sudan365: Keep the Promise video,[47] to support the peace process in Darfur.
In June 2010, she contributed the song "Leila" to the Enough Project and Downtown Records' Raise Hope for Congo[48] compilation. Proceeds from the compilation fund efforts to make the protection and empowerment of Congo's women a priority, as well as inspire individuals around the world to raise their voice for peace in Congo.
In 2011, Kidjo collaborated with Forró in the Dark and Brazilian Girls on the track "Aquele Abraço" for the Red Hot Organization's most recent charitable album Red Hot + Rio 2. The album is a follow-up to the 1996 Red Hot + Rio. Proceeds from the sales will be donated to raise awareness and money to fight AIDS/HIV and related health and social issues. Kidjo recorded a version of Fela Kuti's "Lady" with Questlove and Tune-Yards for the Red Hot Organization in 2012.
On February 18, 2013, at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Kidjo was the host of a night of celebration for the cultural heritage of Mali. The event included performances by many Malian artists.
[50]
On May 22, 2014, Kidjo met with First lady Michelle Obama to discuss international girls' education, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House.[51]
November 2014 saw Kidjo collaborating with many other artists as part of Band Aid 30, the 30th anniversary version of the 1980s supergroup.
In 2015 she signed an open letter which the ONE Campaign had been collecting signatures for; the letter was addressed to Angela Merkel and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, urging them to focus on women as they serve as the head of the G7 in Germany and the AU in South Africa respectively, which will start to set the priorities in development funding before the main UN summit in September 2015 that will establish new development goals for the generation.[54]
Kidjo is a contributor to the Art Of Saving A Life Campaign initiated by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.[55]
At the G7 Summit in 2019, President Macron of France named Kidjo as the spokesperson for the AFAWA initiative (Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa) to help close the financing gap for women entrepreneurs in Africa.[58]
In 2006, Kidjo founded the Batonga Foundation with the goal of empowering and educating adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa. Batonga's goal is to go "beyond the paved road" by targeting the most excluded girls and equipping them with the knowledge and skills they need to live healthy, financially independent lives. Batonga's data-driven approach allows them to target the hardest-to-reach girls, recruit them to the Girls Clubs, provide them a safe space to learn, convene, connect, and improve their livelihoods. In this, Batonga remains true to its core mission— to shine a light on the most overlooked girls in Francophone West Africa and empower them to be agents of change in their communities and their own lives.
History
Growing up, Kidjo was one of the few girls in Benin to receive an education. She invented the word "Batonga" as a joyfully defiant response to those who told her that girls did not belong in the classroom. Later, it would become the title of a hit song for the Grammy-winning singer/songwriter and the name of her non-profit organization.
In 2006, Kidjo founded the Batonga Foundation with the goal of empowering and educating adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa. Batonga has since provided girls in five African countries (Mali, Benin, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and Cameroon) with 5,000 academic years of education through scholarships and in-kind support, supplied 8,727 students access to wells and latrines across 7 schools in Benin, and offered 222,000 students in Benin's poorest regions TOMS shoes for the walk to school.
In 2015 and 2016, under the guidance of the intentional design team at Population Council, Batonga began to shift away from the scholarship model and formal education initiatives that tended to leave behind society's most vulnerable. Batonga began instead focusing on innovative education programs geared toward the most excluded young women and girls. Today, Batonga focuses primarily on providing girls with safe spaces and mentors, equipping them with life and financial literacy skills, and helping them start small businesses.
On November 11, 2018, Kidjo sang Bella Bellow's song "Blewu" under the Arc De Triomphe of Paris in front of 70 heads of state and a television audience of millions to pay tribute to the fallen African soldiers of the war.[59][60][61][non-primary source needed]
Special concerts
In 2023, Kidjo launched her 40th anniversary live concert tour commencing at the Royal Albert Hall on the 17 November 2023 and proceeding with a global tour celebrating the same.
In February 2003, she performed a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" at the famed Radio City Music Hall in New York City alongside Chicago blues guitar legend Buddy Guy and New York rock guitarist Vernon Reid (of Living Colour) in what would become part of Lightning in a Bottle: One Night In The History Of The Blues, a documentary about blues music that features live concert footage of other rock, rap and blues greats.
In May 2004, she performed at the Quincy Jones-produced concert in Rome called "We Are The Future" in front of 400,000 people. The show took place at the Circus Maximus with appearances by Oprah Winfrey, Alicia Keys, Andrea Bocelli, Herbie Hancock and other international stars.
In 2005, Kidjo appeared at the Africa Unite Live concert in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a concert to celebrate the Honourable Bob Marley's 60th birthday and was a featured speaker at the conference of African Unity held along with the concert.
In March 2005, she appeared at the Africa Live concert in Dakar along with many great African stars in front of 50,000 people.
Kidjo appeared in the theatrical performance of Storie fantastiche dal delta del Niger by Raffaele Curi [it] for the Alda Fendi Experimenti Foundation in Rome in April 2009.
The same month, Kidjo performed at Africa Day in The Hague, Netherlands, showing her commitment to poverty reduction and supporting the work of the Evert Vermeer Foundation and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation. Kidjo commented, "In the fight against poverty you need organisations like SNV and the Evert Vermeer Foundation. SNV with expertise on the ground and EVF convincing politicians to do more on sustainable development."[63] In July 2009, Kidjo became a member of the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation International Advisory Board.[64]
The same month she sang a duet with Alicia Keys at Radio City Hall in New York for the 46664 concerts for Nelson Mandela's Foundation.
On August 28, 29 and 30, 2009, she participated in the Back2Black Festival devoted to African culture in Rio de Janeiro along with Gilberto Gil, Youssou N'Dour and Omara Portuondo.
On June 10, 2010, she was part of the Official Kick-Off Celebration Concert of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, along with John Legend, Hugh Masekela, Shakira, Alicia Keys, Juanes and Black Eyed Peas.
On June 17, 2010, she performed at Les FrancoFolies de Montréal – the Montreal Francofolies festival of French-language music.
On November 11, 2010, Kidjo presented her "Sound Of The Drum" show at Carnegie Hall. The sold-out concert featured special guests Youssou N'Dour, Omara Portuondo, Dianne Reeves and guitarist Romero Lubambo and told the story of the African roots of the music of the diaspora.
From December 10 until December 19, 2010, Kidjo participated in the Fesman 2010, the World Festival of Black Arts in Dakar, Senegal. The Festival is the third edition of a festival devoted to African culture all over the world.
Kidjo was one of the performers at the BET Honours Awards in February 2011
On October 1, 2011, she created a special concert based on Beninese traditional songs with guest guitarist Lionel Loueke for the "Heroic Africans" exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of New York.
On October 27, 2011, Kidjo performed at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival in Qatar, following the screening of Mama Africa, a documentary about Miriam Makeba's life.
On February 17, 2012, Kidjo performed for the opening of the Carnival of Recife, Brazil with Nana Vasconcelos and Maestro Forro
On February 28, 2012, the Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations and UNICEF presented a special Kidjo concert called "Raise your Voice to End Female Genital Mutilation" at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York City. The Concert was produced by MGP Live.[65]
On December 6, 2012, Kidjo joined the Alicia Keys's Keep A Child Alive Black Ball in Harlem at the Apollo Theatre along with Jennifer Hudson, Bonnie Raitt and Brittany Howard. Oprah Winfrey and Kidjo were honored for their humanitarian work at the ceremony. She sang "Pata Pata", "Afirika" and "Djin Djin" as a duet with Alicia Keys.
October 3, 2015, saw the French sold out premiere of IFÉ, Three Yoruba Songs, Kidjo's collaboration with Philip Glass at the Philharmonie de Paris with the Orchestre Lamoureux conducted by Gast Waltzing.[68][69]
On July 10, 2016, Kidjo created the premiere of her "African Women All-Stars" concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival with special guests Aṣa, Dobet Gnaore, Lura and the Trio Teriba from Benin.[71]
On September 30, 2021, Kidjo performed at the opening ceremony of Expo 2020 in Dubai, UAE.
On November 16, 2021, Kidjo performed in Geneva, Switzerland, with the Geneva Camerata in the Concert Prestige n.2 conducted by David Greilsammer, with arrangements by Jonathan Keren, and Francesco Ciniglio as the drummer.
Kidjo married French musician and producer Jean Hébrail in 1987. Their daughter Naima was born 1993 in France.[77]
In popular culture
Kidjo performed the original song "How Can I Tell You?" in the documentary Nasrin, released in October 2020, with music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens.[78]
On December 27, 2014, in Lagos, Nigeria, Kidjo won two All African Music Awards (AFRIMA): one for Best Contemporary Artist, one for Best Female Singer from West Africa.[132]
Kidjo is the recipient of the 2015 Crystal Award given by the World Economic Forum of Davos in Switzerland[120]
On January 28, 2015, Kidjo was awarded the Visionary Leadership Award by the International Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven, Connecticut.[133]
On February 9, 2015, Kidjo won the International Mappie Award given by the M-Magasin in Stockholm, Sweden[135]
On May 6, 2015, Kidjo was awarded the David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award in New York by Synergos. Past recipients include Kofi Annan, Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, Jennifer and Peter Buffett, Mo Ibrahim.[136]
On November 16, 2017, Kidjo received the prestigious "Grand Prix Des Musiques Du Monde" from the Académie Charles Cros for her entire career, in conjunction with the release of the French version of her memoir "La Voix Est Le Miroir De l'Âme"[142]
On February 24, 2018, Kidjo received the Charles de Ferry de Fontnouvelle Award from the Lycee Francais De New York. The following month she was added to the 2018 OkayAfrica 100 Women list. The organisers cited her talent and activism in making the award.[143]
On June 14, 2018, she received the Prix De L'Artiste Citoyen 2018 from the Adami [fr], the French society of performers.[144]
On October 21, 2018, Kidjo received the first World Pioneer Award during the Songlines magazine Music Awards 2018 ceremony at Electric Brixton in London. She sang a duet with Fatoumata Diawara backed by Mokoomba during the finale of the evening.[145]
On December 7, 2018, she received the German Sustainability Award along with Richard Gere and Rea Garvey. The award is endorsed by the German Federal Government, local and business associations as well as numerous NGOs, among them UNESCO and UNICEF. The German Sustainability Award was established in 2008 to encourage the acceptance of social and ecological responsibility and to identify role models in this area.[146]
Kidjo was awarded the 2019 Dutch Edison Award for her career in the Jazz and World category[147]
On June 13, 2019, she was awarded the Musicultura Unimarche Prize by the Universities of Macerata and Camerino in Italy which is awarded to Italian and international personalities who have distinguished themselves in their careers for high artistic merits.[148]
On February 4, 2020, The UCLouvain University gave an Honorary Doctorate to Kidjo along with Nuccio Ordine and François Taddei[119]
Kidjo's Grammy nominations include the Best Music Video of 1995 and Best World Music Album for works completed in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2014 2015, 2019 and 2020.
Kidjo is the 4th laureate of the Antonio Carlos Jobim Award (2007). Created in 2004 on the 25th anniversary of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, each year the award is given to an artist distinguished in the field of world music whose influence on the evolution of jazz and cultural crossover is widely recognized.
On November 24, 2020, Kidjo was included in the 2020 BBC 100 Women list. The list compiles "the most inspiring and influential women in the World in 2020"[151]
Kidjo received two nominations at the 65th Grammy Awards, for Best Global album for Queen of Sheba with Ibrahim Maalouf and for "Keep Rising" with Jessie Wilson from The Woman King soundtrack.[158]
Kidjo is the recipient of the 2023 Vilcek Prize in Music given by the Vilcek Foundation. The Vilcek Foundation champions diversity for the advancement of the arts and sciences. We celebrate and invest in immigrant artists and scientists at every stage of their careers.[159]
On July 13, 2023, she received the "Prix Nuits D'Afrique Pour La Francophonie" in the City Hall of Montreal [162]
Dance/club hits
Kidjo's music has been remixed by famous producers including Norman Cook ("We We") and Tricky ("Agolo"). Several of her singles have reached the Billboard Dance/Club Play chart. In 1996, Junior Vasquez remixes of her song "Wombo Lombo" brought the song to Number 16. In 2002, King Britt remixes of her single "Tumba" helped the song reach Number 26. "Agolo" was remixed by Mark Kinchen, "Shango" was remixed by Junior Vasquez, and "Conga Habanera" was remixed by Jez Colin.
"Salala" from, Djin Djin, was remixed in 2007 by Junior Vasquez and Radioactive Sandwich.[163]
"Move On Up" was remixed by Radioclit, the team from the Very Best.
^McDonnell, Evelyn (2018). Women Who Rock: Bessie to Beyonce. Girl Groups to Riot Grrrl. New York, NY: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. p. 243. ISBN978-0-316-55887-7.
^Orshoki, Wes (June 2007). "With a little help from her friends: Angelique Kidjo finds inspiration in world-class collaborators". Global Voice. pp. 31–35.