Angélique Kidjo receives Hollywood Walk of Fame star
Cue Writer
Angélique Kidjo has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, becoming the first African musician to be honored on the Los Angeles landmark.
The Benin-born singer accepted the honor Tuesday with family and friends present, according to BBC News. Actors Willem Dafoe and Djimon Hounsou, along with Nigerian musician Adekunle Gold, attended the ceremony.
Kidjo, 66, has spent more than four decades bringing the musical traditions of Benin into conversation with funk, jazz and pop. Her latest album, HOPE!!, arrived this year; BBC reports that Pharrell Williams produced tracks for the record and that its guest list includes Ayra Starr, Quavo, Nile Rodgers and Diane Warren.
The honor adds another marker to a career that already includes five Grammy wins and 18 albums. For Caribbean listeners who know how far a regional sound can travel, the moment lands as a welcome reminder that music rarely stays inside the borders people draw around it.
Source: BBC News