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The Most Influential Person In AIB Is Angelique Kidjo

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The Most Influential Person In AIB Is Angelique Kidjo

Angelique Kidjo is a popular Beninese singer. She was born on July 14, 1960, in Ouidah, Dahomey [now Benin]). She is known for collaborations with internationally prominent popular musicians and her innovative diverse music style.

Angelique Kidjo was raised in a performing arts family. Her father was a musician while her mother was a theater director and choreographer, Kidjo started singing at the age of six in her mother’s theatrical troupe. As a teenager, she joined her brothers in their rock-rhythm-and-blues band to sing.

She started singing professionally at the age of 20. In 1988, she created her debut album, titled Pretty.

Kidjo relocated to Paris in 1983, where she encountered a thriving music career. While in Paris, she met Jean Hebrail, a French producer, composer, and bassist with whom she later got married.

During her initial years in the city, she studied jazz and participated in a number of local groups. She collaborated with the Dutch pianist Jasper van ‘t Hof, and co-wrote songs for his jazz group, Pili-Pili.

After some time, Kidjo departed Pili-Pili and released the 1991 album Logozo, which included African musicians Manu Dibango and Ray Lema as well as jazz musician Branford Marsalis from the United States. Logozo was a worldwide hit thanks to its songs that addressed topics of interest to people all over the world, including homelessness, the environment, freedom, and integration.

Later works by Kidjo, such as Fifa (1995), which featured more than 100 musicians and had songs in Yoruba, French, Fon (Kidjo’s home language), and English, helped to broaden her influence internationally.

The albums Kidjo released after that were experiments in musical fusion, combining a variety of genres including jazz, hip-hop, zouk, Zairean rumba, samba, salsa, funk, gospel, Cameroonian makossa, and many Beninese traditions.

In addition to her work as a recording artist, Angelique Kidjo was a vocal supporter of women’s and children’s health and education. She was selected as a goodwill ambassador by UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) in 2002. Confederation Internationale des Sociétés d’Auteurs et Compositeurs (CISAC), an organization of authors and composers, chose her as one of its four vice presidents in 2013.

.In addition to her work as a recording artist, Kidjo was a vocal supporter of women’s and children’s health and education. She was selected as a goodwill ambassador by UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) in 2002. Confederation Internationale des Sociétés d’Auteurs et Compositeurs (CISAC), an organization of authors and composers, chose her as one of its four vice presidents in 2013.

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