Wave Wire Services
HOLLYWOOD — Five-time Grammy-winning musician Angélique Kidjo became the first African artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Aug. 18.
Actor Willem Dafoe and Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. joined Kidjo in speaking at the ceremony at 7011 Hollywood Blvd., across from the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
Dafoe described Kidjo as a performer whose music can transform the atmosphere of a venue.
“I’ve seen the power of her music to get an audience who were content at first to just sit and listen to jump up out of their chairs and fill the venue with dancing,” Dafoe said during the ceremony. “She has an ability to bring people together in a celebration through her generosity, open-hearted talent. She brings joy and connection.”
Kidjo and Dafoe have been friends since she was introduced to him following his performance in the play “To You, The Birdie!” in Brooklyn in 2002.
During the ceremony, Kidjo reflected on Africa’s cultural influence.
“I’ve come from this country that (has) inspired the world through its culture.” she said. “And we just don’t know it. We Africans don’t know what we’ve given to the world, that we continue giving to the world for the music to exist. Without us, there’s no music possible on this planet.”
Mason hailed Kidjo as a rare artist whose influence extends beyond her musical achievements.
“This star is a permanent symbol; it’s not going anywhere, and it’s a symbol of your achievements,” Mason told her. “But your legacy, it lives in the people that you’ve touched, that you’ve inspired, the barriers that you’ve broken, the connections you’ve created all around the world.
The ceremony was held a day after Kidjo performed at the Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles.
Born in what is now the West African nation of Benin, Kidjo released the first of her 18 albums, “Pretty,” in 1981. Her fourth album, “Logozo,” released in 1991, was her first to top Billboard’s world music albums chart.
Kidjo had two other albums top the Billboard world music albums chart — “Djin Djin” (2007) and “Eve” (2014).
She is a 16-time Grammy nominee, receiving her first in 1995 for best music video for “Agolo.” She won her first Grammy in 2008 on her fifth nomination for best contemporary world music album, “Djin Djin.”
Kidjo won best global music album Grammys in 2015 for “Eve,” in 2016 for “Sings,” in 2020 for “Celia” and 2022 for “Mother Nature.”
Kidjo’s other honors include the 2015 Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum; the 2016 Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award; the 2018 German Sustainability Award; the 2023 Vilcek Prize in Music; and the 2023 Polar Music Prize.
“Sometimes it feels as though the world is losing hope at such a rapid pace that it’s endangering our humanity,” Kidjo said in a biography on her website, kidjo.com. “With all the music that I create, I want to show that anything and everything is possible — and that despite what the political rhetoric might have us believe, we are all deeply connected.
“My hope is that these songs bring happiness to everyone, but also remind them that we were all put here to help and love each other.”
