Angélique Kidjo soon engraved in the sidewalk of Hollywood: a star for all of Africa
On August 18, at 11:30 a.m. Los Angeles time (6:30 p.m. GMT), one more plaque will join the 2,853 already sealed in the sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard. But this one will have a special flavor: it will be the 2,854th star on the Walk of Fame, and it will bear the name of Angélique Kidjo, making her the first African musician and the first black African artist to receive this honor.
The ceremony will be held at 7011 Hollywood Boulevard, directly across from the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. By his side for the occasion: actor Willem Dafoe, four-time Oscar nominee, and Harvey Mason Jr., head of the Recording Academy. Kidjo will receive his star in the category “ Registration musical (Recording)”.
A diva, four decades, five Grammys
Born in Benin, the singer left her country in 1983 to settle in Paris, fleeing, in her own words, the oppression of the communist regime then in place. She told the BBC in 2023 that she understood, from the arrival of this regime, that the freedom we enjoy can be taken away in a second.
Since then, she has built a career full of variety: afropop, jazz, funk, world music and world music, punctuated by five Grammy Awards. Sixteen albums, four decades on stage, and a list of collaborators which alone says the extent of his influence: Burna Boy, Philip Glass, Sting and Alicia Keys.
For Walk of Fame producer Ana Martinez, the tribute goes well beyond the career of a single woman: “ Angélique Kidjo’s exceptional artistic talent and global influence have inspired audiences of all generations and continents “, she declared, hailing her as the first African artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in recognition of her remarkable contribution to music and culture around the world.
A nuance that matters
The title of “first African” deserves to be clarified: Kidjo is the first black African to receive this distinction. The African continent has already been represented on the Walk of Fame since 2005 by the white South African actress Charlize Theron. Kidjo joins Charlize Theron, a white South African actress, to represent Africa on the Walk of Fame, a walk which has more than 2,700 stars in total.
A consecration at the right time
The announcement comes as Kidjo has just released a new album, HOPE!!, with featurings from Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers and Quavo; a sign that the artist, at 64, continues to move forward rather than resting on his achievements.
Beyond music, Kidjo is also known for her commitment: ambassador for UNICEF and Oxfam, she directs the Batonga Foundation, dedicated to the education of young girls in Africa. It is perhaps this mixture (the artist and the activist) which gives this Hollywood star a weight which goes beyond the strict framework of show business: a symbol planted in the heart of Los Angeles, but which belongs, as Ana Martinez says, to an entire continent.
OBN
