Grammy Award winner, Angelique Kidjo has traced her roots back to Iseyin, a town in Oyo State, she revealed during an interview.
Kidjo, who was born in Ouidah, Benin Republic explained that her mother was Yoruba and she still had family scattered all over South-West Nigeria, even though she doesn’t visit enough.
The 61-year-old 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 family in Abeokuta, Ibadan, Lagos, everywhere, I have cousins I haven’t seen in a million years that I miss a lot.”
She also added that her busy schedule keeps her occupied, stating that even her 29-year-old daughter, Naima complains.
“I have a hectic life, my own daughter just told on the phone yesterday ‘okay, when are you coming back home, and I said not before November to… and she said ‘don’t forget you have a daughter though,”
Angelique Kidjo was called Africa’s Premier Diva by Time Magazine in 2007 and she’s never been shy to proclaim her love for the continent.
“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. Africa is not about that because I grow up in a country that is poor but people were very happy.”
She 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.”
Angelique Kidjo won her fourth Grammy on Sunday for her Mother Nature Album.
