Angelique Kidjo Revisits Childhood Favorites

Thursday February 04, 2010

From Reuters

NEW YORK (Billboard) – Singer-songwriter Angelique Kidjo is one of Africa’s most internationally successful performers, blending the music of her native Benin with Western jazz, soul and rock during a nearly three-decade career.

Her new album “Oyo,” due in late March on Razor & Tie, is a tribute to the music that influenced her when she was growing up and includes Kidjo’s interpretations of African works as well as songs like Curtis Mayfield’s “Move On Up,” which features John Legend, and Aretha Franklin’s “Baby I Love You,” a duet with Dianne Reeves. The album also supports her work as an activist and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Billboard: Why did you decide to make this album a return to the music that inspired you as a child?

Angelique Kidjo: People were always trying to figure out what kind of music I grew up listening to, based on what kinds of music I do now, and threw out the idea of what an African artist should be doing versus what a European artist should be doing. It was also about time for me to thank artists. When you’re writing music, you have to be careful, because people listen to it at every age. It can derail somebody’s life or it can empower somebody, and that’s what music did to me. The music that I listened to kept me away from trouble.

Billboard: How did you choose the songs?

Kidjo: That was the hardest thing. They came and they came, and I’m like, “You know what? Whatever comes, that’s it.” One of those was really difficult, a song that I had been looking for so long (“Dil Main Chuppa Ke Pyar Ka” from Bollywood film “Aan”) … the music is a memory of my father (who) passed away last year. I would be dragging him to the movie all the time, and he understood that it was not only the movie that I wanted to see, but the songs also.

Billboard: Why do you think the message of Curtis Mayfield’s song “Move On Up” still resonates, and what did you want to bring to your interpretation?

Kidjo: I wanted to dedicate that song to the youth of Africa, for them to continue dreaming even if the times are hard … And to all youth, because Curtis Mayfield wrote that song not only for the poor kids; it’s for every kid today that’s struggling to find their identity, their place in a society that is changing so fast.

Billboard: The song “Agbalagba” was offered as a free download with Uwem Akpan’s book “Say You’re One of Them.” What is the story in the song?

Kidjo: “Agbalagba” means “elderly” or “ancestor.” Elderly people or ancestors — what is the legacy that they leave to us? They have cherished us and protected us. They are the reason we are here today. So how are we going to continue that legacy? Every child in the world should be free to go to school, not to be sold, not to be turned into prostitutes, not to face our differences of opinions. Religion shouldn’t be a matter in their lives.

Billboard: You’re a UNICEF Ambassador and started the Batonga Foundation to provide secondary education to African girls. How will downloads of album track “You Can Count on Me” benefit this work?

Kidjo: Every song that is downloaded gives a vaccine to a child or pregnant woman, because we need millions of vaccines. It is amazing that we’re in the 21st century and every four minutes there’s a new child with tetanus. I can’t send those girls to school if they aren’t born, or if they die before they reach secondary school.

Billboard: You’ve been a performer for a long time, across several continents and genres. What changes in the music industry have most affected your career?

Kidjo: iTunes and YouTube have allowed me to exist more in people’s houses than before. It gives the people the choice of choosing what they want to listen to, versus all the politics of the single … The only downside of it is that the sales of the actual CDs have decreased drastically … but if they want to buy the whole CD, you know they are hardcore fans. It’s more in the hands of the consumer to choose.

Click here to read the article

Baby, I Love You feat. Dianne Reeves	3:10	Angélique Kidjo
Zelie	2:04	Angélique Kidjo
Move On Up feat. John Legend	3:46	Angélique Kidjo
Ae Ae	3:31	Angélique Kidjo

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