ANGELIQUE KIDJO

Girl Power

Angelique Kidjo was born in Cotonou, Benin in 1960. She grew up listening to traditional Beninese music, artists from Africa like Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, and Fela Kuti from South Africa, along with the likes of Otis Redding, James Brown, and Stevie Wonder. At the young age of six, Kidjo began performing with her mother’s theatre group and not much later started singing in her school band, Les Sphinx. In 1983 political turmoil in Benin led her to Paris where she attended the CIM, a reputable jazz school. There she met musician and producer Jean Hebrail, who became one of her longtime collaborators. While part of the band Pili Pili, she recorded a solo album and was soon after discovered by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell. Between 1991 and today she has recorded 11 albums, won 40 awards, and one Grammy.

ANGELIQUE KIDJO IS A WORLD RENOWNED ARTIST, ACTIVIST, LEADER, AND ROLE MODEL FOR ALL GIRLS AND WOMEN.

In 2002 Angelique Kidjo became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, traveling to Benin, Senegal, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Syria, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Haiti. She founded the Batonga Foundation to aid girls in secondary school and higher education by giving scholarships, building infrastructure, providing supplies, supporting mentor programs, and advocating for community awareness in the value of education for girls. She has also campaigned for Oxfam and “Africa for women’s rights”, has contributed songs to projects and organizations, and has met with Michelle Obama regarding international girls’ education. Her last project was signing an open letter for the ONE Campaign, urging Angela Merkel and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to focus on women during the G7 in Germany and the AU in South Africa in preparation for the UN summit in September 2015.

- MARIA ZORDAN