Angélique Kidjo honored with star on Walk of Fame

Angélique Kidjo honored with star on Walk of Fame  CNN

The musical icon from Benin tells the BBC about why Africa and Africans are so important to music.

Beninese music icon Angélique Kidjo celebrates her global legacy with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the first dedicated to a Black African. In Nigeria, the town of Ogijo has more lead-recycling factories than anywhere else in Africa, supplying the American auto industry at a heavy cost to nearby communities. Me

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce also proclaimed 18 August Angélique Kidjo Day in Hollywood before the unveiling.

Five-time Grammy award winner Angélique Kidjo has made history as the first African musician to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Angelique Kidjo makes history with Hollywood walk of fame star

“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," said Benin’s President Romuald Wadagni.

Five-time Grammy winner Angelique Kidjo on Tuesday became the first Black African to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Grammy-winning multihyphenate received glowing tributes from Harvey Mason jr. and Willem Dafoe.

Beninese music icon Angélique Kidjo is set to become the first African musician to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. According to Billboard, Kidjo will receive the star in the Recording category during a ceremony on Tuesday at 7011 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, United States. The historic

Benin · CULTURE Key Facts —The ceremony: Angélique Kidjo receives her star on Tuesday 18 August 2026 at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time at 7011 Hollywood Boulevard. —The historic first: Kidjo is the first African musician and first Black African performer to be honoured on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. —The star number: She rece

Two things have been crucial to a restless Angélique Kidjo since her childhood in Benin, West Africa: diverse, universal, nuanced brands of truthful musical storytelling in all its forms, and her mother. Selling nearly four million albums worldwide, winning five Grammys, writing a bestselling autobiography, “Spirit Ris