Kidjo, Anjelique

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Anjelique Kidjo

Singer

Anjelique Kidjo, described as “one of Africa’s most engaging, powerful and charismatic young female stars” by Black Diaspora’s Brennan Marcano, has a music-without-frontiers style all of her own which seamlessly blends the indigenous songs of Benin, samba, zouk, classic funk influences such as James Brown, rock-salsa influences such as Santana, slick caribbean pop dance music, Indian and Arabic tones, makossa from Cameroon, American gospel, and coolly ethereal jazz sounds. Her energetic rhythms are an original, musically diverse blend of global sounds that alternate infectious dance tracks with lyrical atmospheric ballads—delivered with soaring, sensual vocals, and often infused with hard-hitting political commentary. Aretha Franklin biographer David Ritz described Kidjo as, “one of the world’s greatest female vocalists”.

After her massive hit single, “Agolo,”from/Ayein 1993, Kidjo was placed squarely on the international music map. The video for “Agolo” was nominated for a “Best Music Video” Grammy Award. Kidjo released three successful albums between 1991 and 1996, each demonstrating her ability to experiment and to further elevate her distinctive sound to new levels. Kidjo, describing her music to her record label’s publicity administrators said: “Some call it Afro-funk; you can call it whatever you like, but really, it’s hard to put my music into one category. Even when I use my own traditional music, I’m nottrying to recreate just one style, I mix it all up.”

Kidjo’s style is much more accessible to Western listeners than many other African artists because she uses the international dance floor as a common meeting ground. Although her music is rooted in African rhythms, her melodies are clear and haunting enough to prompt listeners to want to sing along, even when they’re sung in the African languages Fon and Yoruba.

Began in Benin

Kidjo was born in the small coastal town of Quidah in Benin, an African country that encompasses numerous, diverse cultures and is located between Togo and Nigeria. Kidjo mostly sings in Benin’s primary language, Fon, but she also sings in Yoruba, English, and French. One of nine children born to a musician father and a theater director/choreographer mother, Kidjo performed as a child in a theater troupe run by her mother, starting when she was six, which is where she honed her impressive dance and performing skills. Her mother has been a major influence in her life and taught Kidjo much about dance choreography; her father, a guitarist, and his love of music, were significant influences as well.

For the Record…

Born Anjelique Kidjo in Quidah, Benin; daughter of a musician father and a theater director/choreographer mother; married producer/composer/bassist Jean Hebrail, daughter Naima.

Performed as a child in a theater troupe run by her mother, and The Kidjo Brother Band organized by her brother. While teen-aged, toured Benin’s local music festivals and performed on the radio. Moved to Paris in 1983, briefly studied law; released Logozo in 1991, Aye in 1993, and Fifa in 1996, all on Mango Records; nominated for Best Music Video Grammy Award for Aye.

Address: Mango Records, 8920 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90069 (310) 276-4500; Home page on the Internet’s World Wide Web: (http://www.-imaginet.fr/kidjo).

One of Kidjo’s brothers, also a guitarist, introduced her at a young age to the music of Santana. As a teenager, Kidjo sang with her brother’s group, the Kidjo Brothers Band. Kidjo cites Santana, James Brown, Manu Diban-go, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Cameo, the Commodores, Miriam Makeba, Aretha Franklin, and Roberta Flack as early musical influences, along with traditional Benin music and Indian music. While still in her teens, Kidjo began touring Benin, performing at local music festivals and on the radio. Women who sang professionally were generally looked down upon, so Kidjo was one of the few female artists in Benin, and as a result, she struggled twice as hard to achieve success. South African singer Miriam Makeba was an important role model for Kidjo at the time; Kidjo sang many of her songs, particularly the Swahili ballad “Malaika”, recorded on Kidjo’s second album Logozo in 1991.

Kidjo traces her ancestry to the female warrior Amazons of the ancient Fon kingdom, encompassing their fighting spirit; the same spirit that makes her a fiercely independent and principled artist. She arrived in Paris in 1983 and embraced a melting pot of music. Many of Africa’s lauded musicians, like Salif Keita and Manu Dibango, were based there along with Caribbean, French and American musicians. The cross fertilization of “world beat” styles are echoed in Kidjo’s musical offerings, and Paris was the right environment at the time for Kidjo to develop her unique musical signature. She met bassist/composer/producer Jean Hebrail in Paris. The couple married and had a daughter named Naima who serves as a source of inspiration for Kidjo.

Intense Live Performer

Kidjo dominates her stage space and has a gift for true communication with an audience, which renders her live performances considerably more than just a musical experience. Her energetic dancing and impressive choreography present rounded entertainment. Her petite size, lithe muscularity, and short-cropped hair, often make her appear like a postmodernist version of a traditional African woman. Her shows are infused with a delightful playfulness that helps her escape the banality of studio sessions, and it’s clear that she enjoys interacting with the public. “Even when I’m singing alone in my studio,” she tells Marcano, “I imagine I’m with the public.”

Her shows are also marked by abundant double-time hand-clapping, foot-stomping, and singing-along feedback from the audience. It’s not unusual for audience members to invade the stage in an enthusiastic show of appreciation, underscoring the fact that the charismatic Kidjo and her high-octane dancing inspires unrestrained adulation. Kidjo told Billboards Elena Oumano, “Dancing is very important in the vodun religion and in my country and culture. The body expresses your health and your soul.”

Messages of Harmony

Her 1996 third American release for Mango, Fifa, was inspired by Kidjo’s travels around Benin with her husband. Accustomed to singing in her native language, Fon, Kidjo decided to take a new direction by recording some of the songs on Fifa in English. “Fifa ” means peace in Fon, and Kidjo wrote the song for her daughter to demonstrate her desire to raise her child in a peaceful world.

The slickly-produced Fifa is the most commercial of Kidjo’s offerings, following Logozo in 1991 and Aye in 1993, with ten tracks and an accompanying video for “Wombo Lombo”. Kidjo pays tribute to the vodun culture of Benin on Fifa, and her video was accepted at television stations that wouldn’t take her previous videos. Kidjo also created her own home page on the Internet’s World Wide Web, emanating from France (http://www.-imaginet.fr/kidjo) and pages supporting her releases are posted on Polygram’s Web site.

Fifa’s “Akwaba” takes aim at unnamed leaders who betray their people’s trust, “Houngbati” is a hymn for the homeless, “Bitchifi” speaks to the materialistic when Kidjo asks, “What did you bring with you on the day you were born? Share your heart, share your time.” Carlos Santana bestowed his guitar prowess to “Naima,” a beautiful song penned by John Coltrane. Kidjo used 200 vocalists and musicians on Fifa. Kidjo told Marcano, “Who knows the color of the spirit? What language does the spirit speak? Music is there to express your emotion, to speak to people, to be the link.”