Angélique Kidjo, the Beninese singer and five-time Grammy winner, has become the first black African to receive a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, more than six decades after the landmark began honoring entertainment industry figures. Kidjo, 66, accepted the 2,854th star on Hollywood Boulevard with a performance that included singing and dancing, describing the recognition as “better late than never.”
Kidjo dedicated her star to Africa and was unperturbed by the fact that it came roughly twenty years after South African actress Charlize Theron, who is white, received her own star. Emphasizing the continent’s deep cultural influence, Kidjo stated, “Without Africa, there would be no music at all,” noting that because humanity originated in Africa, its impact is embedded in everyone’s DNA.
Her musical career spans over four decades and includes collaborations with well-known artists such as Bono, Alicia Keys, and Burna Boy. Kidjo’s journey began in Cotonou, Benin’s largest city and economic center, where she debuted on stage at the age of six in her mother’s theatre company. She later became a teenage radio star but fled Benin in 1983 amid a Marxist regime that pressured musicians to produce propaganda. With the help of a customs official, she moved to Paris, where she studied jazz and worked as a cleaner before signing with Island Records. Her breakthrough album, Logozo, was released in 1991.
Fluent in five languages—French, English, and three West African languages—Kidjo has become a familiar figure internationally, particularly in the UK, where she has performed at the Proms and Glastonbury Festival. Despite being frequently categorized under the “world music” label, a Western industry term for non-Anglo-American music, Kidjo rejects the classification, insisting her work should simply be called “music.”
Reflecting on why she left Africa, Kidjo explained that it was not to pursue greater fame but due to political and social constraints. “You live in a country where you pay your tax and do everything by the book and they tell you that you can speak your mind, but you can’t,” she said. She highlighted that today’s young African musicians have more opportunities thanks to the internet, which allows them to reach large audiences across the continent. Kidjo expressed hope that African governments recognize the economic importance of nurturing local talent to retain their youth. “If you create an economy where every citizen is proud, and they have jobs, they will stay,” she said.
Her most recent album, HOPE!!, features collaborations with artists including Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers, alongside emerging African stars. The album, dedicated to her mother who passed away in 2021, is intended as a source of inspiration during challenging times, with Kidjo emphasizing that “hope is at the core of what we can do in moments of distress.”
Following the star ceremony, Kidjo’s husband, musician Jean Hébrail, returned to Hollywood Boulevard with family to find an African mother explaining to her children about Kidjo’s star. The singer remarked, “The new generation needs to see themselves standing there [on Hollywood Boulevard], wherever they come from.”