Legendary singer and multiple Grammy Awards winner, Angelique Kidjo has disclosed in a recent interview with Smooth FM in Lagos State that her lineage is from Iseyin, Oyo State, Nigeria.
Kidjo stated that her mother told her of her background as a growing-up child and that she is a citizen of Nigeria.
The 61-year-old singer who was born in the Benin Republic claimed that she has lots of relatives in Nigeria even though she doesn’t visit them often.
Kidjo said, “My Mum told me that I am from Iseyin because when my grandfather’s great great great great father came back from Brazil, they found their roots in Iseyin.
“From my mother’s mother’s side, we have always been from Nigeria. So we have families in Abeokuta. Ibadan, Lagos, everywhere, I have cousins I haven’t seen a million years that I miss a lot.”
Angelique who said that she is so busy that her 29-year-old daughter, Naima, complains about it, described her life as being “hectic” while noting “my own daughter just told on the phone yesterday ‘okay, when are you coming back home, and I said not before November and she said ‘don’t forget you have a daughter though.”
While speaking about her love for Africa, Angelique said she was not only concerned with singing about the beauty of the continent but also showing the happiness the people of Africa radiate.
“It’s just that I love to sing. I love to bring Africa to the world. The beauty of Africa, not the music that people are very content about seeing and talking about.”
Kidjo added that she wants the world to see how powerful African women are, “the women of Africa are the backbone of this continent and they are beautiful. So, I want the world to see that.”
