Five-time Grammy winner Angélique Kidjo became the first Black African to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday, marking a milestone for African music at a glitzy Los Angeles ceremony attended by film stars and music industry titans.
Kidjo was honoured with the 2,854th star on the Walk of Fame at 7011 Hollywood Boulevard, directly across from the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, receiving the honour in the Recording category. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Ron Frierson proclaimed August 18 as Angélique Kidjo Day in Hollywood just before the star was revealed. Reflecting on the moment, the 66-year-old singer said, “We Africans don’t know what we’ve given to the world, what we continue giving to the world; without us there’s no music possible on this planet.” She then broke into song before dancing joyously over her new star as the crowd watched in rapt attention.
The ceremony drew a heavyweight guest list. Oscar-nominated actor Willem Dafoe, a four-time Academy Award nominee, praised her stage presence, saying “the first time I saw Angelique perform live, I thought her music, her dancing, her commitment were incredible. She is, without a doubt, the hardest-working woman in show business.” He also highlighted her humanitarian work through the Batonga Foundation, which supports girls’ education across Africa, calling it “not a token celebrity involvement” but “an extension of what she does with her music.” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. added that Kidjo’s example “has elevated our global music community,” while Hollywood Walk of Fame producer Ana Martinez honoured her as the first African artist to receive the recognition. Benin-born actor Djimon Hounsou and Nigerian star Adekunle Gold were also among those in attendance.
Kidjo’s career trajectory is central to why the honour carries such weight. Born in 1960 in what was then Dahomey, now the Republic of Benin, she began performing at a young age before relocating to Paris in the early 1980s to escape political instability under the country’s then-communist regime. She released her debut album, “Pretty,” in 1981, and her fourth album, “Logozo,” released in 1991, became her first to top Billboard’s world music chart. Over a four-decade career, she has built a catalogue of collaborations with artists including Burna Boy, Philip Glass, Sting and Alicia Keys. Beyond her five Grammy wins, she has also won the Polar Music Prize, performed at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, and sent 14 titles to the top 10 of the World Albums chart. She has additionally been recognised as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people, one of Africa’s 50 most iconic figures according to the BBC, and one of the 100 most inspiring people in the world by The Guardian.
Her activism runs alongside the music. Kidjo has served as a UNICEF International Goodwill Ambassador since 2002 and sits on the board of the Batonga Foundation, which has helped hundreds of girls attend school across countries including Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Benin, Cameroon and Mali.
The honour has also resonated politically at home. Benin’s President Romuald Wadagni marked the achievement in a Facebook post, writing that “by becoming the first African artist to receive this global honour, the Beninese icon has etched her name into history and raised the rhythms, creativity and dignity of our entire nation to the highest level.”
Kidjo becomes only the second African-born entertainer honoured on the boulevard, following South African actress Charlize Theron, who received her star in 2005 — a distinction that has sparked some online debate over the “first African” framing, given Theron’s own African origins, even as Kidjo is being celebrated specifically as the first Black African to receive the honour.
