Angelique Kidjo

Angelique Kidjo moves me more than almost any artist in this batch. Emerging from Ouidah in Benin, a town scarred by the slave trade, she carried African rhythm to the center of the global stage and won five Grammys doing it. What impresses me is not just the trophies but the breadth of her collaborators, from Alicia Keys to Yo-Yo Ma, and her insistence that African music belongs everywhere, not in a niche. Becoming the first Black African with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star is a milestone that speaks to decades of barrier-breaking. To me she is a bridge-builder whose voice carries history.

Name (English)

Angelique Kidjo

Name (Japanese)

アンジェリーク・キジョー

Reading

あんじぇりーく・きじょー

Born

July 14, 1960 (age 66)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Cancer / Rat

Origin

Ouidah, Atlantique Department, Benin

Occupation

singer / composer / jazz singer / writer / choreographer

Awards & achievements

• 2011 Champions of the Earth
• 2016 Ambassador of Conscience Award
• 2018 OkayAfrica 100 Women
• 2008 Commander of the National Order of Benin
• 1995 Danish Music Awards
• 2002 MOBO Awards
• 2008 Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album
• 2015 Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album

• Official sitehttps://www.kidjo.com
• Xhttps://x.com/angeliquekidjo
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ang%C3%A9lique%20Kidjo
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B8%E3%82%A7%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AF%E3%83%BB%E3%82%AD%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A7%E3%83%BC
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q231276

Tags

• Atlantique Department
• singer
• composer
• jazz singer

Last updated

2026-06-21

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.