Kidjo was born on July 14, 1960, in Cotonou, French Dahomey which is the modern-day Benin Republic to Franck Kidjo, a government official from the Fon people of Ouidah and Yvonne Kidjo, a choreographer from the Iseyin people in Nigeria. Her musical and artistic interest was spiked by the kind of songs she listened to growing up which was a fusion of different sounds from different places. She was influenced by Fela Kuti from Nigeria, Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba from South Africa, Manu Dibango from Cameroon, Osibisa from Ghana and Stevie Wonder from America. These diverse musical styles and genres helped to prepare her for cross-cultural and cross-boundary music that she would ultimately explore and be known for.
Before the age of six, Kidjo joined her mother’s theatre troupe where she learnt to perform which gave her early exposure to traditional music and theatre. At school, she joined the band, Les Sphinx where she adapted Makeba’s Les Trois Z which became nationally known and was played on the radio.
In 1981, she released her first album, Pretty, at the age of 21 produced by the Cameroonian Ekambi Brilliant, which contained popular songs like “Ninive” and “Gbe Agossi”. Through the album’s acceptance, she was able to tour west Africa.
In 1983, Kidjo relocated to Paris, France as a result of political conflict in Benin. There, she began working day jobs so as to raise money to pay for her school at CIM, a jazz school in Paris. It was in the school she met musician and producer Jean Hebrail whom she would later marry in 1987. She joined local bands as a backup singer before ultimately becoming the main singer for the Jazz/Rock band, Pili Pili.
In 1985, she released Ewa Ka Djo (Let’s Dance) but it was with Parakou that she found success in 1989. By then, she had become one of the most popular live performers in Paris and caught the attention of Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, who signed her in 1991.
Her first album under the new record label, Logozo, was released in 1991 and reached number one on the Billboard World Albums chart. She also embarked on her first world tour while also performing at various festivals.
Three years after the release of Logozo, Kidjo released Ayé which contained the single, Agolo, the song which earned her her first Grammy award nomination. This was followed by the album, Fifa, which contained the successful song, “Wombo Lombo.” in 1996 and Oremi in 1998.
In 2000, Kidjo left Island Records to join Columbia Records. The same year she released Black Ivory Soul which was followed by Oyaya in 2004. It was with her next album, Djin Djin, released in 2007 that Kidjo would win her first Grammy award after four nominations winning the Best Contemporary World Music Album award. The album also won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding World Music Album.
Her next album, Oyo, released in 2010 was a mixture of traditional African music with classic soul. It was nominated for a Best Contemporary World Music Album award at the Grammys. It was followed by Spirit Rising which was a live album.
In 2014, Kidho released Eve which was dedicated to African women. She had to travel to Benin and Kenya as part of the project. She captured the chants of traditional women choirs which are featured in the songs from the album. It earned her her second Grammy award for a best global music album.
The following year, Kidjo yet again released another album, Sings, which was in collaboration with the Orchestre Philharmonique Du Luxembourg. It paid homage to Makeba and was critically acclaimed winning another Grammy award. It was followed by her 2018 album, Remain in Light, which was heavily influenced by Fela’s Afrobeats.
In 2019, she released her Grammy award-winning album, Celia. It was followed by another album in 2021, Mother Nature, which featured Yemi Alade, Burna Boy Mr Eazi, Zeynab, Shungudzo, Sampa The Great, Rexxie, African legend Salif Keita and French singer Matthieu Chedid. It won Kidjo her fifth Grammy award for Best Global Music Album. She specifically thanked Burna Boy, Yemi Alade and Mr Eazi for the collaboration. Financial Times described it as a “rallying pan-African collaboration.”
Kidjo’s deliberate effort at collaborating with Nigerian artistes is timely coming at a period when African music is dominating the global scene. The 61-year-old is setting the tone for intra-continental connection and collaboration which will ultimately benefit the continent in the long run. With five grammy awards to her name, Kidjo remains one of the most important and influential singers from the continent and her star continues to shine. It is no surprise that she won the Most Popular Celebrity (Rest of Africa) awards at Net Honours 2022.
