Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Angelique Kidjo: the diva from Benin could win a record sixth Grammy Award

01/02/2023

Angelique Kidjo: the diva from Benin could win a record sixth Grammy AwardKidjo's fame continues to grow globally, particularly during Grammy season, she's been nominated for the Grammy Awards in the US 14 times

by The Conversation

01-02-2023 16:55

in Music

Angelique Kidjo: the diva from Benin could win a record sixth Grammy Award

Image via instagrame @angeliquekidjo

Angelique Kidjo, the energetic singer-songwriter and activist from the Republic of Benin, represents a rare African phenomenon.

--

In many respects, she belongs to the illustrious musical lineage of Mama Africas - the likes of South Africa's Miriam Makeba, Letta Mbulu and Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Cape Verde's Cesaria Evora and Mali's Oumou Sangare.

These powerful maternal personages are distinctive for their regal bearing, a grand sense of responsibility in sharing Africa's cultural heritage, and protecting the dignity of the African woman. They may not always articulate this political and aesthetic worldview in so many words, but their carriage says it all.

Posing with her 2020 Grammy. Amanda Edwards/Getty Images Mama Africas could be defined by the strength of their voices, their rich and colourful cultural pedigree and their duty to preserve what has been handed over to them through centuries of toil, conflict and creative resilience.

--

Kidjo's fame continues to grow globally, particularly during Grammy season. Nominated for the Grammy Awards in the US 14 times since 1995, she lifted her first in 2008 and went on to win Best World Music Album in 2015, 2016, 2020 and 2022 (when the title changed to Best Global Music Album).

Her five Grammys match the record of South Africa's isiZulu a capella outfit Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Kidjo is up for more wins in 2023 for Best Global Music Album and also for Best Song Written for Visual Media for the movie The Woman King. Her album entry, a collaboration with French-Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf, is called Queen of Sheba.

--

AGOLO The 62-year-old West African pop star has jammed with music stars ranging from Quincy Jones and Buddy Guy to Mavis Staples and Chaka Khan. Her debut album Parakou was released in 1990, but it took her hit song Agolo for her to burst into global reckoning and galvanise the world's dance floors in 1994.

In the Yoruba language agolo refers to the metaphysical significance of time, a cyclical phenomenon conjoining life with death - life being a gift that must be cherished and lived wisely. Agolo was a fervent wail of catharsis from the womb of Africa, bearing swathes of history, suffering and defiance. It shook souls and moved feet through its rhythmic sense of elation and release.

In the video there's an androgynous energy about the artist with the closely cropped hair. A suggestion that she's possessed by the indefatigable endurance of a real queen like Nzinga of Angola, Yaa Asantewaa of the old Gold Coast or Amina of the Hausa kingdom of Zazzau. They had to lead men to war, often with great success.

However Kidjo, like her fellow Mama Africas, does not bear arms in inscribing herself on the global canvas of cultural production, which is as competitive as any other. She is from the territory of the controversial Agoodjies, the Amazons of Dahomey. During the colonial era, they served as the king's private army and dominated the slave trade in and around today's Benin. The Hollywood movie The Woman King has revived attention on the questions of their feminine power and gender-blending energies.

It is a fallacy to view femininity in a simplistic or one dimensional manner. It is both multiple and diverse and Kidjo seems to have been nurtured on this fundamental philosophy.

ALSO READ: Grammys 2023: Here's who will attend/ skip music's biggest night

FIERCENESS A multi-genre artist, Kidjo sings traditional Benin folk songs, deep blues, fervid West African R&B, hard rock and urban club bangers in multiple languages with Fon, Yoruba, French and English being her main modes of expression.

In person, Kidjo is spry and compact; she radiates fierceness. At a pre-Grammy performance she once galvanised an entire hall of industry executives and music pundits. This is too sleepy for me, she said, hopping off the stage and walking into the audience, led by her confident voice.

Her singing isn't dreamy or silky like some phony, over-sexualised diva. Rather it acts as a gutsy surge of affirmation towards visibility, justice and freedom.

She is outspoken in her belief that all music comes from Africa, much carried with it by enslaved people. That Africa represents the heart of the blues and the many musical forms it influenced and that her descendants have distributed it across the world, carrying with it joy, enlightenment and upliftment.

SPIRITUALITY Some of Kidjo's songs celebrate ancient forms of African spirituality. Benin is renowned for being an epicentre of spirituality, particularly through Vodun, a polytheistic belief that serves multiple deities and emphasises the links and continuities between woman and man, nature and divinity, life and death, the ancestors and the living.

In this, Kidjo's aesthetic project seems undeniably political, almost in the same way that Makeba's was. But, rather than directly targeting established political institutions such as the United Nations to effect social change, as Makeba did, Kidjo aims for a revolution of the mind and spirit. It is the sort of approach to be expected from one born and bred in the land of the loas, a pantheon of deities comprising Legba, god of the crossroads, among others.

ALSO READ: New music loading': Gqom queen Babes Wodumo back in studio

Kidjo is also knowledgeable on the Ifa spirituality of the Yoruba people, to whom her mother belongs - some of whom live in Benin.

When one thinks of Ki
LINK: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/angelique-kidjo-diva-from-benin-c...
See more stories from thesouthafrican

Most recent headlines

02/07/2023

The latest data is now available!

Our robust, comparable data provides trusted insights and gives media owners, buyers and planners the power to trade confidently. ABC members and data subscrib...

02/07/2023

Latest data released on 21st Feb

We'll be releasing The next set of ABC audited consumer media data covering the period January to December 2022 on Tuesday 21st February at noon. When rele...

02/07/2023

Latest data released 21st Feb

We'll be releasing The next set of ABC audited consumer media data covering the period January to December 2022 on Tuesday 21st February at noon. When rele...

01/05/2023

Predicting 2023: Simon shares his thoughts with AAM

Our Chief Executive Simon Redlich was recently invited by Alliance for Audited Media (AAM) to share his views on what 2023 might hold. Read what Simon and other...

30/03/2023

ERI To Unveil New UHF TV Bandpass Filters At NAB Show

CHANDLER, Ind. ERI will introduce a new UHF Television Bandpass Filter with improved insertion loss and a unique forced air colling system at the 2023 NAB Show,...

30/03/2023

VertiCast Taps Harmonic for Live Sports Streaming

SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced that VertiCast Media Groups CSport, the Caribbean sports service streaming the Premier League, is using Harmonics VOS360...

30/03/2023

NAB Show: Dalet to Introduce New SaaS Solutions

PARIS Dalet has announced that it will be showing new SaaS solutions that are designed to power modern, agile, and efficient digital content production, managem...

30/03/2023

Comcast Reports 36% Energy Efficiency Gains Since 2019

PHILADELPHIA Comcast is reporting that it has reduced the electricity it takes to deliver each byte of data across its network by 36% since 2019. The efficiency...

30/03/2023

Miller Tripods To Introduce Versa Camera Plate At NAB Show

LAS VEGAS Miller Tripods will debut its Versa universal camera plate at the 2023 NAB Show, April 15-19, in Las Vegas....

30/03/2023

disguise Announces Collaboration with NVIDIA

disguise Announces Collaboration with NVIDIA Brie Clayton March 29, 2023 0 Comments The Collaboration Will See disguise Integrate with NVIDIA Omniverse...

30/03/2023

Avid Unveils the Next Wave of NEXIS Storage Performance Innovation for Ultra High-Resolution Video Workflows

Avid Unveils the Next Wave of NEXIS Storage Performance Innovation for Ultra Hig...

30/03/2023

Bulls Staffers Ready and Excited for Opening Day

The Durham Bulls will open the 2023 season at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Friday, March 31, and front office staffers could not be more excited. Several w...

30/03/2023

How the Wachter Fellowship Helped These Students Launch Careers in L.A.

How the Wachter Fellowship Helped These Students Launch Careers in L.A. The fellowship, offered through Berklees Career Center, provides students with the mea...

30/03/2023

Lawo Elasticity Special Online Event on 4th April 2023 and New Products and Major Updates at NAB 2023

Lawo Elasticity Special Online Event on 4th April 2023 and New Products and Ma...

29/03/2023

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know D. Smith, the Filmmaker Behind KOKOMO CITY

This Friday, March 31 is Trans Day of Visibility, a day to honor the contributions and existence of our trans community - from artists to colleagues to friends ...

29/03/2023

Discover the Creative Process Behind Myke Towers' New Album, LA VIDA ES UNA'

As Latin rap's global influence grows, the release of Myke Towers' highl...

29/03/2023

La audio serie chilena Quemar Tu Casa' regresa para una nueva parte de terror escalofriante

Tras el xito de su primera temporada, la audio serie original de Spotify Quema...

29/03/2023

Chilean Audio Series Quemar Tu Casa' Delivers More Bone-Chilling Horror With Part II

Following the success of its first season, the Spotify Original scripted audio s...

29/03/2023

The Sounds of Top African Artists Come Alive on Vice President Kamala Harris' New Spotify Playlist

This week, American Vice President Kamala Harris visits Ghana, Tanzania, and Zam...

29/03/2023

SGL Carbon expands material portfolio with new carbon fiber for high-strength pressure vessels

SGL Carbon will present a new 50k carbon fiber at JEC World 2023. The new SIGRAF...

29/03/2023

Sencore to Display its Extensive Range of Solutions at NAB 2023

Includes new Centra platform for broadcasters Sioux Falls, USA - 29 March 2023 Sencore a leading broadcast equipment supplier and platform developer will ...

29/03/2023

Johanna Gravelle appointed Managing Director of Panavision Canada

TORONTO, Can. (March 29, 2023) Panavision, the entertainment industry's leading designer, manufacturer and rental provider of high precision optics and ca...

29/03/2023

Frivolity and Power

The feature Soft follows three adolescent queer friends as they navigate the pardons and perils of summer break in the streets of Toronto. Written and directed ...

29/03/2023

Finding the Light

Written and directed by Zach Braff, A Good Person tells the story of Allison (Florence Pugh), who unexpectedly befriends an elder gentleman named Daniel (Morgan...

29/03/2023

LIVE DOLBY ATMOS RECORDINGS AT NOWA MIODOWA CONCERT HALL ENHANCED WITH DPA MICROPHONES

Sound Director Tadeusz Mieczkowski Selects DPA for Durability, Reliability and S...

29/03/2023

DPA MICROPHONES ANNOUNCES NEW 2012 AND 2015 PENCIL MICS

Newest solutions offer precise sound reproduction for the live stage. DPA Microphones, the leading manufacturer of high-quality microphone solutions, unveils i...

29/03/2023

Comscore Expands 48-hour TV Measurement Reporting

RESTON Va. Comscore has announced that it is speeding up the delivery of TV viewing data to more local markets by expanding the availability of 48-hour TV measu...

29/03/2023

NAB Show Exhibitor Insight: ENCO

TV TECH: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2023 NAB Show?...

29/03/2023

Contrast and Ratios The Key to Image Depth Colour Theory in DaVinci Resolve

Contrast and Ratios The Key to Image Depth Colour Theory in DaVinci Resolve Riccardo Luppi March 29, 2023 0 Comments In this series, we go through ...

29/03/2023

Filmmaker Agos Bruera Brings Female Gaze to REVERSE

Filmmaker Agos Bruera Brings Female Gaze to REVERSE Brie Clayton March 29, 2023 0 Comments Commercial production company REVERSE welcomes Agos Bruera t...

29/03/2023

Creative COW Job Listing: On-Location Video Editor in Newport, Wales

Creative COW Job Listing: On-Location Video Editor in Newport, Wales Brie Clayton March 29, 2023 0 Comments On-location Video Editor Looking for work...

29/03/2023

Creative COW Job Listing: Adobe After Effects Designer & Scripting Lead, London

Creative COW Job Listing: Adobe After Effects Designer & Scripting Lead, London Brie Clayton March 29, 2023 0 Comments Adobe After Effects designer/scr...

29/03/2023

Spring 2023 Maxon One Release Adds Extraordinary Value

Spring 2023 Maxon One Release Adds Extraordinary Value Brie Clayton March 29, 2023 0 Comments Enhancements across the entire product line including Cin...

29/03/2023

A Remedy for Cancel Culture

A Remedy for Cancel Culture MacArthur Fellow Loretta J. Ross spoke about toxic internet culture and the virtues of calling in instead of calling out at a rece...

29/03/2023

UK government publishes draft Media Bill, Ofcom to regulate global streamers

The global streamers could face fines of up to £250,000 or be restricted in the UK entirely if they are found to have broken rules around harmful material By J...

29/03/2023

ARRI creates dedicated business unit for virtual production

ARRI Solutions designs, engineers, builds, and operates virtual production environments of all sizes By Jenny Priestley Published: March 29, 2023 ARRI Sol...

29/03/2023

Riedel makes new appointments to Product Division management team

The appointments follow Riedels recent acquisitions of Simplylive and SDNsquare By Jenny Priestley Published: March 29, 2023 The appointments follow Riede...

29/03/2023

Canela Media to Use Amagi's FAST Marketplace

NEW YORK Media SaaS provider Amagi has announced that Canela Media will be using the Amagi CONNECT free ad-supported streaming (FAST) marketplace to help it imp...

29/03/2023

Frontier Bundles YouTube TV with Its Broadband Service

NORWALK, Conn. In another example of how telcos and cable operators are working to attract cord-cutters by bunding streaming services with their broadband offer...

29/03/2023

Nearly Nine in Ten U.S. Internet Homes Have a Streaming Video Subscription

New survey data from Parks Associates shows that subscription video services are nearly ubiquitous in U.S. homes, with 87% of US internet households having at l...

29/03/2023

Ross Video Makes it Real at NAB Show 2023

Ross Video Makes it Real at NAB Show 2023 Brie Clayton March 28, 2023 0 Comments Company Unlocks Video Production Innovation through Hyperconverged P...

29/03/2023

Job Listing: St. Louis CITY SC Summer Internship Opportunity for Youths!

Job Listing: St. Louis CITY SC Summer Internship Opportunity Brie Clayton March 28, 2023 0 Comments St. Louis CITY SC Summer Internship Opportunity L...

29/03/2023

Raleigh Magazine Honors WRAL-TV's Gardner as Women Shaping Raleigh 2023

WRAL-TV's Elizabeth Gardner is honored by Raleigh Magazine as one of the Women Shaping Raleigh 2023 at an event at One Glenwood on Monday, March 27. Raleig...

29/03/2023

lls Begin 2023 Season with Friday Night Fireworks and Post-Game Ring Ceremony

110 Years of Durham Bulls Baseball Celebration & Kids Run The Bases complete Opening Weekend 2023 The Back-to-Back Triple-A National Champion Durham Bulls begi...

29/03/2023

Embrace Spring with Boston Conservatory Orchestra at Groton Hill Music Center

Embrace Spring with Boston Conservatory Orchestra at Groton Hill Music Center On April 8, the orchestra celebrates the changing seasons at an exciting new con...

29/03/2023

Bernice Chan on How Berklee Helped Jumpstart Her Career as a Publicist

Bernice Chan on How Berklee Helped Jumpstart Her Career as a Publicist A panelist at Career Jam 2023, the recent alum discusses landing her current position a...

29/03/2023

Secret Codes Unlock Hidden Subgenres Of Content On Netflix

It turns out there are secret ways to search for content to watch on Netflix....

29/03/2023

Standard General Asks Court To Review FCC Media Bureau's Move To Kill Tegna Deal

Standard General said it filed a lawsuit asking a U.S. Appeals Court to order th...

29/03/2023

Dollar General Media Network Uses LiveRamp To Connect With Customers

At a time when retail networks are growing in dollar volume and sophistication, Dollar General worked with LiveRamp to strengthen its connection with its custom...