Cosmos: Angelique Kidjo

Cosmos: Angelique Kidjo

An outstanding artist in the vast scene of modern world music, boasting five Grammy Awards and thirteen albums, Angelique Kidjo is a modern-day icon in the historic evolution of socio-political and cultural Africa. All the artistic/creative ventures of this unique singer/songwriter and activist from Benin have been attuned, almost from the start, to her historic heritage and its international projection into the present day. In other words, much like South African Miriam Makeba (Angelique's idol) had done in previous times, Kidjo embraces her roots, both through tradition and through jazz, soul, rock and other musical expressions that render her music transnational.

Having lived and grown up in the former Dahomey, Angelique experienced the West African musical tradition but was also influenced by the powerful waves of rock and soul music through Jimi Hendrix, Santana, James Brown, and others, thus finding her own expressive path, which she developed and perfected with studies in Paris and her participation in the great world jazz group Pili Pili of Jasper van 't Hof. Then came the '90s, when her collaboration with Island Records paved the way for the skyrocketing of her career.

Making the most of her artistic family tradition, her great talent and her cultural/social awareness, Angelique Kidjo soon acquired the status of a true world diva, venturing into many different artistic fields through collaborations with leading artists, including Bono, Peter Gabriel, Carlos Santana, Sting, Philip Glass, and Ziggy Marley. Her prolific discography, dating from the late '80s to the present day, consists of albums that are true jewels, each of them embracing a special aspect of the human art called music.

Angelique Kidjo engages in a music and an art that spans equally the fields of her native African tradition and her acquired transnational understanding that is expanded and enriched with each passing day. Her live performances are characterized by boundless energy and interaction, always offering her audiences a positive and hopeful message.

Her concert at the SNFCC is part of her European tour on the occasion of the 40 years of her career, which starts in Paris in October and ends at Carnegie Hall in November 2024.