Multiple Grammy Awards winning singer, Angelique Kidjo has traced her roots to Nigeria in a recent radio interview.
The veteran singer told Smooth FM in Lagos, Nigeria that going by what her mother told her, she is originally from Iseyin, a town in Oyo State.
The 61-year-old singer who was born in Benin Republic noted that she has a lot of relatives in Nigeria even though she does not visit them often.
According to the legendary singer, “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 disclosed that she is so busy that her 29-year-old daughter, Naima, complains about it, she said “I have a hectic life, my own daughter just told me 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 on her love for Africa, the international award winner said she was not only about using her songs to eulogise the beauty of the continent, but 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. Africa is not about that because I grow up in a country that is poor but people were very happy.”
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.”
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