Angelique Kidjo Biography, Age, Grammy Awards, Music, Net Worth
Angelique kidjo Biography
Real Name: Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo
Stage Name: Angélique Kidjo
Date of Birth: 14 July , 1960
Age: 60 Years
Place of Birth: Ouidah, Benin
Nationality: Beninese
Language(s): Yoruba, English, French, Fon, Gen
Husband: Jean Hebrail
Genre(s): Rhumba, Afro-pop, Jazz, Latin, Gospel, Carribean Zouk, Gospel
Net Worth: US$5 Million
Record Label: Columbia_Records
Angelique Kidjo is a Beninese singer, song writer and activist whose music has captured people globally. Her full name is Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo. The Queen of African music was born on the 4th of July 1960 in Quidah, Benin. She is an Internationally recognized musician and is famous for winning four Grammy Awards. The Angelique Kidjo Biography reveals the true identity of Africa’s greatest female musician.
Career Beginnings
Angelique Kidjo was born into a family of artists. At the age of six, she had already began performing with her mother’s theatre troupe. This gave her an early appreciation for traditional music and dance. After that, she started singing in her school band, Les Sphinx. Later on, her own rendition of Miriam Makeba’s “Les Trois Z” became popular as it was played on national radio. Still in her teenage years, she recorded her debut album’Pretty’ which was produced by Cameroonian producer Ekambi. The album featured a tribute to the singer ‘Bella Bellow’, one of her role models as well as “Ninive”. Due to acceptation of this master piece, she started touring West Africa leaving a mark at every performance. Political conflicts in Benin were not permissive for music production and led her to relocate to Paris in 1983.
Watch: Angelique Kidjo – Agolo
Angelique Kidjo Music
After moving to Paris France, Kidjo studied music at the CIM, a reputable jazz school in Paris. There she met producer Jean Hebrail with whom she has composed most of her music and married in 1987. Like her earlier releases, Kidjo’s subsequent albums were exercises in musical fusion. The genres, included jazz, hip-hop, zouk, Zairean rumba, samba, salsa, funk, gospel, Cameroonian makossa, and various Beninese traditions. Moreover, through out her career she has collaborated with dozen of International artists Alicia Keys and Shakira. She also collaborated with Ziggy Marley, Joss Stone, Yemi Alade and the Opera legend Philip Glass. Furthermore, Her collaborative nature exported her music to all parts of the world. To date she has collaborated with artists from 36 countries.
Watch: Yemi Alade – Shekere feat Angelique Kidjo
Angelique Kidjo Biography, Age, Grammy Awards, Music, Net Worth
Anglique Kidjo’s Albums
Kidjo has constantly paid tribute to her role models through dedicating albums to them. For instance, she paid homage to Cuban American singer Celia Cruz with Celia. To date, the superstar has seventeen albums to her name, see list below.
- Pretty (1981)
- Ewa Ka Djo (Let’s Dance) (1985)
- Parakou (1990)
- Logozo (1991)
- Ayé (1994)
- Fifa (1996)
- Oremi (1998)
- Keep On Moving: The Best of Angelique Kidjo (2001)
- Black Ivory Soul (2002)
- Oyaya! (2004)
- Djin Djin (2007)
- Õÿö (2010)
- Spirit Rising (2012)
- Eve (2014)
- Sings (2015) – with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg
- Remain in Light (2018)
- Celia (2019)
Angelique Kidjo Grammy Awards
The Queen of Africa’s first Grammy was for World Best Contemprary Music Album ‘Djin Djin‘ at the 50TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS (2007). Secondly, at the 57TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS (2014) she was awarded the World Best Music Album Grammy with ‘Eve’. Thirdly, at the 58TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS (2015) she retained the World Best Music Album Grammy. Last but not least, she won again the World Best Music award at the 62ND ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS (2019). In total, Angelique Kidjo has four Grammy Awards and nine nominations. Her nominations were for Best Contemporary World Music Album at the 43th and 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. Likewise, she was nominated for World Best Music Album at the 41st, 45th Annual Grammy Awards. She was also nominated for Best Video – Short form on the 37th Annual Grammy Awards.
Achievements
Angelique Kidjo wrote a memoir entitled Spirit Rising which was published 2014. Remarkably, Desmond Tutu wrote the preface and Alicia Keys the foreword. On the back cover, Bill Clinton is quoted praising Angelique for her soothing voice and inspiration. Kidjo is the first woman to be listed among “The 40 Most Powerful Celebrities in Africa” by Forbes magazine. Moreover, she is a recipient of the prestigious 2015 Crystal Award given by the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. In addition, she is a recipient of the 2016 Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award. The Daily Telegraph in London described her as “The undisputed queen of African music” during the 2012 Olympic Games Music Festival. Angelique Kidjo has performed for Presidents, dignitaries, the richest people in the world including the iconic Nelson Mandela.
Angelique Kidjo Biography, Age, Grammy Awards, Music, Net Worth
Advocacy
Angelique Kidjo is a women’s rights activist who has used her music as a platform to fight women and child abuse. She has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2002. Oxfam has also partnered with the Queen of African music since 2005 in their endeavors. In 2010 the African Union appointed her a Peace Ambassador. She has also worked with Michele Obama on promoting education of the girl child. Further, she has worked with the UN, WHO and UNESCO in humanitarian aid missions. Kidjo founded The Batonga Foundation, which empowers some of the most vulnerable and hardest-to-reach women and girls in Benin. In 2019, President Macron of France named Kidjo as the spokesperson for the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa. The initiative helps close the financing gap for women entrepreneurs in Africa.
Angelique Kidjo Net Worth
Kidjo is a Beninese American singer-songwriter and activist who has a net worth of $5 million. Her collaborative nature has been her hallmark. Kidjo is the first woman to be listed among “The 40 Most Powerful Celebrities in Africa” by Forbes magazine.
Angelique Kidjo Biography, Age, Grammy Awards, Music Net Worth