The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Angelique Kidjo

  • Kizz Daniel, Angelique Kidjo, Johnny Drille unite for new track “Police”

    Kizz Daniel, Angelique Kidjo, Johnny Drille unite for new track “Police”

    Award-winning artist Kizz Daniel kicked off his upcoming album with the release of the highly anticipated first single, ‘Police’, featuring the legendary six-time Grammy winner Angelique Kidjo and singer and songwriter, Johnny Drille.

    This marks the start of a fresh chapter for Kizz Daniel, setting the tone for his next era with an upbeat, feel-good track that’s all about infectious melodies, smooth rhythms, and exceptional storytelling.

    “Police” is produced by a powerful trio—Ghana’s MOG Beatz (known for work with Sarkodie, Mr Eazi, King Promise), Nigeria’s Blaise Beatz (credits include Chris Brown, Davido, Simi), and Johnny Drille, who also lends his voice to the track.

    Together, they craft a sound that blends modern Afrobeat, soul, and global influences into something truly infectious and easy to connect with. Driven by an addictive rhythm and witty lyrics,

    ‘Police’ stands out as a feel-good anthem to get people moving and smiling. Angelique Kidjo brings her Grammy-winning brilliance, Johnny Drille adds heartfelt emotion, and Kizz Daniel brings his signature flair—creating a fun, multi-generational sound that resonates across borders.

    “Police” is a humorous lighthearted yet romantic song about a couple with conflicting schedules which results in him calling the police over his lover’s irresistible charm.

    With witty lyrics and an engaging melody, the track offers a fresh perspective on love, blending humor with exceptional artistry.

    Read Also: NNPCL: Time for a new direction

    The synergy between Kizz Daniel’s signature sound, Angelique Kidjo’s legendary charisma and global influence, and Johnny Drille’s velvet vocals makes this collaboration a must-listen.

    ‘Police’ is available for streaming on all major digital streaming platforms

    Since bursting onto the scene with his cult-classic debut single ‘Woju’ in 2014, Kizz Daniel has continued to lead from the front to afrobeats music.

    His debut album New Era was The Headies ‘Album of the Year’ in 2016, and he was nominated for The Future Awards Africa the following year.

    Driven by the massive hit track ‘Nesesari’, Kizz Daniel’s 2018 sophomore album No Bad Songz topped the iTunes World Album Chart on its first day of release.

    Since 2020, the Nigerian sensation has released four critically acclaimed projects, King Of Love, Barnabas, Maverick, and TZA, birthing essential Afropop tracks like ‘Boys Are Bad’, ‘Lie’, ‘Rich Till I Die’, ‘Showa’, ‘Marhaba’ and ‘Twe Twe’.

    With over four billion streams under his belt, two Shazam chart-topping singles, sold-out tours across Africa, North America, and Europe, and over 25 million social media fans, Kizz Daniel is one of the leading figures at the forefront of representing Afrobeats on the world stage.

    The enigmatic musician is the epitome of an all-round entertainer with a magnetic tone, captivating lyrics, alluring stage and screen presence, and an undeniably infectious musicality, which are just some of the irrefutable characteristics of all his songs, cutting across afrobeats, pop, and R&B music, from classic cut ‘Nesesari’ to chart-topper ‘Buga’ to fan-favorite ‘Cough (Odo)’, and everything in between.

    After coming off of a very eventful 2022 that saw the global music sensation achieve huge milestones of being crowned the most streamed artist in Africa in the first half of the year, releasing the biggest afrobeats song of the summer with ‘Buga’, and performing at the 2022 World Cup opening ceremony with Diplo and Calvin Harris, 2023 shaped up to be an even bigger year for Kizz Daniel, with the success of his fourth studio album Maverick, his Essence Festival headline performance, and chart-topping collaboration with Becky G among his many highlights last tear.

  • Burna Boy craves collabo with Yossou N’dour, Angelique Kidjo

    Burna Boy craves collabo with Yossou N’dour, Angelique Kidjo

    Hip hop artiste Burna Boy has his eyes of singing with two African music greats. Taking to Twitter over the weekend, Burna Boy expressed his desire to sing with Yossou N’dour and Angelique Kidjo.

    “I’ve bin tryna do a song with Yossou N’dour but I can’t find my man anywhere,”  Burna Boy, whose single, ‘Rock Your Body’ is currently rocking the airwaves, wrote in a tweet on Saturday.

    “Bin trying for 2years now lol.”

    Yossou N’dour, a celebrated Senegalese musician. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine described him as, “perhaps the most famous singer alive” in Senegal and much of Africa. He was also Senegal’s Minister of Tourism from April 2012 to September 2013.

    Not long after that, he tweet his desire to sing with the Beninese Grammy singer, writing, “I been trying to work with Angelique Kidjo for ages too.”

  • Angelique Kidjo, Adesewa Josh to host UNTV’s ’21st Century’

    Angelique Kidjo, Adesewa Josh to host UNTV’s ’21st Century’

    Grammy Award-winning Beninese singer-songwriter and activist, Angelique Kidjo and producer and broadcast journalist Adesewa Josh have been named hosts of Emmy award-winning United Nations Television documentary program show tagged “21st century”.

    Adesewa, a Channels TV News anchor, will host the English version of the show while Angelique Kidjo has been listed to host the French version of the documentary. By this, Adesewa becomes the first Nigerian to host the show.

    Shot in the UN premises in New York, ’21st Century’ is a monthly 26-minute news magazine programme that puts a spotlight on the world’s underreported stories. The show which airs on Channels TV on Wednesdays at 8.30pm with a repeat on ChannelsTV UK at 8.30pm on Sundays has over 20 million viewers across Africa.

    In 2015, Adesewa, a niece of the former Wrestling champion, Mike Bamiloye, was assigned a stint at the UN headquarters to report on Nigeria’s rotational presidency at the Security Council.

    Sources have also hinted that Adesewa is in talks with Hollywood actress Meryl Streep on reporting projects focusing on President Donald Trump’s policies towards Africa.

     

  • Femi Kuti, Angelique Kidjo, others celebrate with UNICEF at 70

    Femi Kuti, Angelique Kidjo, others celebrate with UNICEF at 70

    Afrobeat singer Femi Kuti, alongside other top African celebrities, was part of the team in New York for the celebration of the 70th anniversary of The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which held recently.
    The artiste, who is also a United Nations ambassador, revealed that it was nice performing alongside Angelique Kidjo, confessing that he also met one of his favorite actors, Jackie Chan.
    “Nice catching up and performing with my sister, Angelique Kidjo,” he stated.
    UNICEF is one of the known world organizations that has taken it upon itself to fight violence against children.
    According to an official statement released by UNICEF, one of the body’s biggest issues is the rising incidence of violence against children and due to the middle income status of Caribbean countries (under UNICEF’s portfolio), and limited resources, the organisation partnered local and regional agencies like CDEMA and The Child Care Board, which also have children’s best interest at heart.
    UNICEF’s representative, Khin-Sandi Lwin, who spoke to The Barbados Advocate after UNICEF’s 70th Anniversary service at St. Matthias Anglican Church on Sunday, said the UNICEF team has worked closely over the seventy years with government, civil society and churches in tackling successfully the most critical children’s issues, such as health, nutrition and education.
    Also present at the celebration galore were David Beckham, Angelique Kidjo, Millie Bobby Brown, Ishmael Beah and others.

  • Kunle Afolayan celebrates Angelique Kidjo over Grammys

    Kunle Afolayan celebrates Angelique Kidjo over Grammys

    As the annual Grammys Award held Monday night at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, United States, Africa was not left out of the celebration – Beninoise singer, Angelique Kidjo won the best world music album of the year.

    The New York-based singer who stars in Kunle Afolayan’s latest movie, The CEO, won the award for her Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg collaboration, Sings. Her album beat one by Malawi’s Zomba Prison Project and South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

    “I want to dedicate this Grammy to all the traditional musicians in Africa, in my country, to all the young generation,” said Kidjo who has won the award for the second consecutive year.

    The album merges African song writing and rhythms with European classical instrumentation, a fusion on which Kidjo has repeatedly experimented.

    Kidjo described the album as an artistic challenge as traditional African bands follow the lead of the soloist much more closely, unlike Western orchestras that generally play off refined scores.

    Nigeria’s filmmaker Kunle Afolayan’s phone has not stopped ringing since the announcement, in view of the prominent role played by the singer in The CEO whose official trailer has been trending in the last three weeks.

    “I am super excited and happy to announce and celebrate with our own Angélique Kidjo for winning the Grammy awards the third time. We at Golden Effects, KAP motion pictures and the entire cast and crew of #TheCEOmovie movie say “CONGRATULATIONS,” Afolayan said via a social media broadcast.

    The singer, who has worked for a long time with Philip Glass, a leading US composer, said Africa was on the rise.

    “Africa is positive, Africa is joyful,” she said after collecting the award.

    The 55-year-old singer added that she has been fighting for a positive image of Africa for a long time and believed music could connect the world and served as a tool for peace.

    Popular singers, Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar, were among the biggest winners at the 58th Grammy Awards. Swift became the first woman to win album of the year twice, the second feat coming from her official switch from country to pop with her multi-hit, best-selling “1989” album. She beat Kendrick Lamar, Chris Stapleton, Alabama Shakes and The Weeknd to grab the night’s top prize.

    She also walked away with two other laurels; best pop vocal album and music video for “Bad Blood”.

    Recall that the singer won the album of the year Grammy for “Fearless” in 2009.

    “There will be people along the way that will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame. You just focus on the work and don’t let those people sidetrack you,” she said while receiving her album of the year award.

    Industry watchers say her speech could be directed partly to Kanye West, who recently said in a new song that he made Swift famous after he stole her microphone at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

    Lamar was the night’s big winner with five awards. He won best rap album for “To Pimp a Butterfly” as well as rap performance, rap song, rap/sung performance and music video. Alabama Shakes also won three awards.

    Meanwhile, R&B superstar, Rihanna had to cancel her performance few minutes before the show. Her rep told US Weekly the reason for the last-minute decision was due to her health.

    “Based on Rihanna’s examination, after Grammy rehearsal today, Rihanna’s doctor put her on vocal rest for 48-hours because she was at risk of haemorrhaging her vocal cords,” said her rep who added that “The antibiotics she has been on for 3-days did not kill the infection adequately therefore she cannot perform safely.”

    The singer was noticeably missing in action on the red carpet at the Staples Center where reporters awaited her arrival.

  • Kunle Afolayan celebrates Angelique Kidjo over Grammys

    Kunle Afolayan celebrates Angelique Kidjo over Grammys

    As the annual Grammys Award held Monday night at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, United States, Africa was not left out of the celebration – Beninoise singer, Angelique Kidjo won the best world music album of the year.

    The New York-based singer who stars in Kunle Afolayan’s latest movie, The CEO, won the award for her Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg collaboration, Sings. Her album beat one by Malawi’s Zomba Prison Project and South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

    “I want to dedicate this Grammy to all the traditional musicians in Africa, in my country, to all the young generation,” said Kidjo who has won the award for the second consecutive year.

    The album merges African song writing and rhythms with European classical instrumentation, a fusion on which Kidjo has repeatedly experimented.

    Kidjo described the album as an artistic challenge as traditional African bands follow the lead of the soloist much more closely, unlike Western orchestras that generally play off refined scores.

    Nigeria’s filmmaker Kunle Afolayan’s phone has not stopped ringing since the announcement, in view of the prominent role played by the singer in The CEO whose official trailer has been trending in the last three weeks.

    “I am super excited and happy to announce and celebrate with our own Angélique Kidjo for winning the Grammy awards the third time. We at Golden Effects, KAP motion pictures and the entire cast and crew of #TheCEOmovie movie say “CONGRATULATIONS,” Afolayan said via a social media broadcast.

    The singer, who has worked for a long time with Philip Glass, a leading US composer, said Africa was on the rise.

    “Africa is positive, Africa is joyful,” she said after collecting the award.

    The 55-year-old singer added that she has been fighting for a positive image of Africa for a long time and believed music could connect the world and served as a tool for peace.

    Popular singers, Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar, were among the biggest winners at the 58th Grammy Awards. Swift became the first woman to win album of the year twice, the second feat coming from her official switch from country to pop with her multi-hit, best-selling “1989” album. She beat Kendrick Lamar, Chris Stapleton, Alabama Shakes and The Weeknd to grab the night’s top prize.

    She also walked away with two other laurels; best pop vocal album and music video for “Bad Blood”.

    Recall that the singer won the album of the year Grammy for “Fearless” in 2009.

    “There will be people along the way that will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame. You just focus on the work and don’t let those people sidetrack you,” she said while receiving her album of the year award.

    Industry watchers say her speech could be directed partly to Kanye West, who recently said in a new song that he made Swift famous after he stole her microphone at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

    Lamar was the night’s big winner with five awards. He won best rap album for “To Pimp a Butterfly” as well as rap performance, rap song, rap/sung performance and music video. Alabama Shakes also won three awards.

    Meanwhile, R&B superstar, Rihanna had to cancel her performance few minutes before the show. Her rep told US Weekly the reason for the last-minute decision was due to her health.

    “Based on Rihanna’s examination, after Grammy rehearsal today, Rihanna’s doctor put her on vocal rest for 48-hours because she was at risk of haemorrhaging her vocal cords,” said her rep who added that “The antibiotics she has been on for 3-days did not kill the infection adequately therefore she cannot perform safely.”

    The singer was noticeably missing in action on the red carpet at the Staples Center where reporters awaited her arrival.

  • Omawumi sings with Angelique Kidjo

    Omawumi sings with Angelique Kidjo

    Songstress, songwriter and actress Omawumi Megbele is out with a new video, featuring legendary Francophone music diva Angelique Kidjo. Titled Play na Play, the single is a soulful ballad rendered in pidgin English; the unofficial lingua franca of her native Niger Delta region of Nigeria. A subtle reminder of the common adage, “Look before you leap” Especially when dealing with crooked people.

    The video is a completely different kind of sound from what current holds in the Nigerian music scene, where she seeks to take her listeners on a musical journey. An infinitely enjoyable soothing yet danceable video, set to break records by a being part of an entirely live video. Her third album is expected to be out sometime in the year.

    It was shot in New Jersey by George Stuber for Monstar film, with the Live Production arrangement by award winning producer; Cobhams Asuquo, and was produced by Bukola Are for Of Kind Creatives.

    The Globacom, Konga, and Malta Guiness ambassador has come a long way from her days as a contestant in Idols West Africa; the Reality Show which is part of the Idols franchise. Although she didn’t win, it brought her to public idea where she has remained ever since, parleying the success by going on to perform with the likes of P-Square, 2face Idibia, D’Banj, Banky W, M.I, Sasha, 9ice, Chaka Demus and Pliers, Carl Thomas, Angie Stone, Donell Jones and lots more.

    The lawyer, turned entertainer is one of the most commercially viable musicians in Nigeria, commanding performance fees as high several millions per show.

  • Angelique Kidjo shines in Lagos 

    Angelique Kidjo shines in Lagos 

    Few weeks after she welcomed the Nigerian delegates and Beninoise officials who handed her two plaques she won at the maiden edition of All African Music Awards (AFRIMA), which held in Lagos, Grammy award winner, Angelique Kidjo, was in Lagos at the weekend, having an exciting time on various radio stations.

    The singer, whose mission in Lagos to perform was at the grand finale of the second edition of Etisalat Prize for Literature which held yesterday, at the Intercontinental Hotel, arrived Saturday, ahead of her performance, and had a swell time gracing the studios for different interviews sessions on her blossoming career.

    Kidjo, who is celebrated for hit songs such as Agolo and Mobolombo took her media tour to Cool FM, Classic FM and Smooth FM.

    The hit maker was one of the high profile personalities at the Prize for Literature award,where one African, among the three finalists shortlisted won a whopping sum of£15,000 and a high-end device, in addition to a book tour to three African cities.

    The three finalists, Songeziwe Mahlangu (South Africa), Chinelo Okparanta (Nigeria) and Nadia Davids (South Africa) also gave a review of their books at the recently held book reading and signing for Etisalat Prize for Literature competition.