Angelique Kidjo: Africa’s Premier Diva

According to Time Magazine, singer Angelique Kidjo is “Africa’s premier diva.” Kidjo started out singing traditional music in her native Benin, West Africa when she was a teenager. In 1983, she escaped the conflict-riddled Benin for Paris, where she studied music and eventually signed her first record deal with Island Records. Kidjo has since released 16 albums and won four World Music Grammys. Her latest album, Mother Nature, was released in June and features young African musicians like Sampa the Great and Burna Boy.

On today’s episode Bruce Headlam talks to Angelique Kidjo about the nature of African rhythm and why it can confuse Western musicians. She also explains how she lets her songs dictate what language her lyrics should be in, and how she managed to escape her home country despite being a recognizable national pop star.


Subscribe to Broken Record’s YouTube channel to hear all of our interviews: https://www.youtube.com/brokenrecordpodcast and follow us on Twitter @BrokenRecord

You can also check out past episodes here: https://brokenrecordpodcast.com

Check out our favorite Angelique Kidjo songs HERE.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episoder(368)

Annahstasia

Annahstasia

Soaring, lush and steeped in soul, Annahstasia has a voice that feels distant and intimate all at once. She was scouted in high school for a career in pop music but after some strange dealings set out...

12 Aug 20251h 6min

Spellling

Spellling

Chrystia Cabral is the experimental, often mystically-inclined Oakland artist who records as Spellling. Since her 2019 debut, she’s built a reputation for richly imaginative music that defies easy cat...

5 Aug 202557min

Daron Malakian

Daron Malakian

Daron Malakian first made his name as the enigmatic guitarist and songwriter behind System of a Down. Between 1998 and 2005, the band released five albums—three of which debuted at number one on the B...

29 Jul 20251h 8min

Bilal

Bilal

Today, we’re joined by one of the most inventive and electrifying vocalists in modern soul music: Bilal. Since the release of his debut album 1st Born Second in 2001, Bilal has defied categorization ...

15 Jul 20251h 22min

Mike Shinoda

Mike Shinoda

Mike Shinoda took a bold step last fall when he reintroduced Linkin Park with a new lineup featuring drummer Colin Brittain and singer Emily Armstrong as lead vocalist—taking on the role once held by ...

8 Jul 202550min

Jesse Malin

Jesse Malin

Jesse Malin quite literally came of age onstage in the gritty clubs of New York City. At just 12 years old, he fronted Heart Attack—one of the earliest hardcore punk bands. After the band broke up in ...

1 Jul 20251h 8min

Haim

Haim

The youngest Haim sister, Alana, started playing music with her older sisters, Danielle and Este, when she was just four years old. Back then, the three of them were part of their family band, Rockinh...

24 Jun 202554min

Bootsy Collins

Bootsy Collins

Today on Broken Record, we’re joined by the one and only Bootsy Collins. Bootsy burst onto the scene in the early ’70s as James Brown’s young, electrifying bass player. But it was with Parliament-Funk...

17 Jun 20251h 5min

Populært innen Underholdning

papaya
harm-og-hegseth
enkel-servering
tusvik-tnne
storefri-med-mikkel-og-herman
konspirasjonspodden
folk-flest-med-linn-og-nils
topp-3-med-wold-og-fladseth
tore-og-haralds-podkast
hovla
nare-venner
big-5-med-nils-og-harald-2
ma-pa-behandling-med-morten-ramm
vitnemal
gi-meg-alle-detaljene
podme-bio-3
rss-gammal-maiden
feedback-med-egon-holstad
singel
rss-brassers