Angélique Kidjo Makes History With Hollywood Walk Of Fame Star
The French-Beninese artist is the first African musician to receive a star on the Walk of Fame.
Five-time Grammy award winner Angélique Kidjo has made history. On Tuesday, August 18th, Kidjo became the first African musician to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “This star is for all the continent of Africa,” she said. “Because if I was not African, would I be here?”
Kidjo’s star was unveiled at a ceremony in Los Angeles, featuring speeches from Academy Award-nominated actor Willem Dafoe and Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. In her own speech, Kidjo stated: “We Africans just don’t know what we’ve given to the world, and what we continue giving to the world for the music to exist. Without us, there’s no music possible on this planet.”
She later reiterated her message to the BBC, sharing: “Without the blues brought by the slaves in America, there’s no R&B, there’s no rock and roll, there’s no soul music, there’s no jazz. All of it comes from Africa.”
Kidjo was born and raised in Benin, but moved to Paris at 23 following a political coup. In France, she studied jazz and kickstarted her long music career. She has performed at the opening of the Tokyo Olympics, was named one of TIME’s most influential people, and received the Polar Prize in 2023. Outside of music, she has served as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and founded her own non-profit, the Batonga Foundation, which seeks to empower girls and young women in Benin.
In his speech at the Walk of Fame, Mason Jr. said: “This star is a permanent symbol; it’s not going anywhere, and it’s a symbol of your achievements. 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 first time I saw Angélique perform live, I thought her music, her dancing, her commitment were incredible,” Dafoe, a longtime friend of Kidjo’s, shared in his speech. “She is, without a doubt, the hardest-working woman in show business.” He praised her advocacy and her music, stating: “She stirs us, lifts us up, and reminds us that we’re all connected, and that love and understanding is the way.”
