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Angélique Kidjo

From Benin

The new Mama Africa?
For a country eclipsed musically by its higher profile West African neighbours, Benin is punching above its weight on this weekend's bill. And while Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou lift the lid on the music that swung the nation in the '70s, Angelique Kidjo is a woman with her gaze fixed firmly on the future. Always one of Africa's most fervent spokespeople (and her popularity across the continent was proved by her place on the bill of the World Cup kick-off concert), both her look and her deeds confirm that she's a thoroughly modern figure. Always keen to look beyond her country's borders for inspiration, Angelique's latest album, Oyo, finds a singer eager to prove her undeniable credentials on gems from the songbooks of Curtis Mayfield, James Brown and Aretha Franklin. The results are, according to The Sunday Times, "a magnificently upbeat marriage of African tradition and Western pop".
Biography written by Nige Tassell

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