Kidjo's Activism

http://www.pittnews.com/arts_entertainment/1.849013-1.849013
Singer performs world music and activism
From October 2008
Updated: Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Angelique Kidjo will bring her world music and message of hope to Pittsburgh tonight at the Byham.

Kidjo is a Grammy-winning Benin native whose musical hand has gone far beyond her native country. She is a singer who draws on her African heritage for musical inspiration, and she is a renowned performer worldwide.

Her parents’ interest in music greatly influenced her.

“I would perform with my mother’s theater group when I was 6 and my father played the banjo,” said Kidjo.

In addition to the respect her parents gave her for traditional instruments and dances, her brother was a member of a cover band. Kidjo often heard cover songs from around the world that included well known Western classic-rock songs by artists like the Beatles.

Because of global and traditional influences, Kidjo’s music is hardly limited to African instruments. In fact, the styles she uses vary from almost classical to rock to salsa and samba. She sings in her native language and other languages she has learned, including English.

In addition to English, “I speak Fon, Yoruba, Goun and French,” said Kidjo. But she insists that the language she speaks is not the dominating issue with her music. “Because music is the universal language ... there is no one language for emotion.”

She stands by the words that all music, including hers, is meant to heal. And she has plenty of first-hand accounts to prove her theory.

“One person has come to me, telling me that they survived breast cancer because of my music, it gave them the strength, the power, to fight it, and get back to their life.”

She continued, “I met a young woman who was the only survivor in a car crash. The doctor said she would never be able to walk ... her brother brought my CD to her. She came to my show, and she was walking on crutches.”

Wobbling painfully on crutches, defying a diagnosis, the young woman explained to Kidjo it was her music that kept the young woman from giving up.

Kidjo surrounded herself with famous names. She has recorded songs with people such as Alicia Keys and Josh Groban. Her producer is Tony Visconti, associated with David Bowie and Marc Bolan.

She is known for regularly performing covers such as a redone “Voodoo Chile,” originally by Jimi Hendrix, and she recorded a John Lennon song for the album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur.

Kidjo is also a musician who does not remain apathetic about her opinions on world events. While this isn’t exactly an uncommon phenomenon, she is certainly one of the few who dedicates more than her words to world assistance.

She is a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. She also founded her own aid and support group, Batonga, which promotes the education of girls in Africa.

“I started [Batonga] by giving girls scholarships to secondary schools ... because if girls do not attend secondary school they will end up in an early marriage,” said Kidjo.

To assist the girls, Kidjo gives money and supplies to both the girls and the families that could have benefited from a marriage payment.

Her goal is to make progress in African countries beginning with the simplest concept of education.

Kidjo said that the source of political turmoil and diseases such as HIV often comes from a lack of education.

Kidjo’s activeness goes one step further than supporting and working with helpful organizations. She has openly and often spoken out against the president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe.

“I believed that, even in extreme time, music is always a tool we can use to give people hope and to empower people to take action in their life,” said Kidjo.