Kidjo was born in Ouidah, Benin. Her father is Fon from Ouidah and her mother is Yoruba . She grew up listening to James Brown, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, and Santana.
By the time she was six, Kidjo was performing with her mother's theatre troupe, giving her an early appreciation for traditional music and dance. She started singing in her school band Les Sphinx and found success as a teenager with her adaptation of Miriam Makeba's "Les Trois Z" which played on national radio. She recorded the album Pretty with the Camerounese producer Ekambi Brilliant and her brother Oscar. It featured the songs Ninive, Gbe Agossi and a tribute to the singer Bella Bellow, one of her role models. The success of the album allowed her to tour all over West Africa. Continuing political conflicts in Benin prevented her from being an independent artist in her own country and led her to relocate to Paris in 1982.
While working various day jobs to pay for her tuition, Angelique studied music at the CIM, a reputable Jazz school in Paris where she met and married musician and producer Jean Hebrail with whom she has composed most of her music. She started out as a backup singer in local bands. In 1985, she became the front singer of the known Euro-African jazz/rock band Jasper van't Hof's Pili Pili. Three Pili Pili studio albums followed: Jakko(1987) Be In Two Minds (1988, produced by Marlon Klein) and Hotel Babo (1990). By the end of the 1980s, she had become one of the most popular live performers in Paris and recorded a solo album called Parakou for the Open Jazz Label.
She was then discovered in Paris by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell who signed her in 1991. She recorded four albums for Island until Chris Blackwell's departure from the label. In 2000 she was signed in New York by Columbia Records for which she recorded two albums.
Her musical influences include the Afropop, Caribbean zouk, Congolese rumba, jazz, gospel, and Latin styles; as well as her childhood idols Bella Bellow, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Miriam Makeba and Carlos Santana.
She has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2002. With UNICEF, she has traveled to many countries in Africa. Reports on her visits can be found on the UNICEF site. Kidjo founded The Batonga Foundation which gives girls a secondary school and higher education so they can take the lead in changing Africa. The foundation is doing this by granting scholarships, building secondary schools, increasing enrollment, improving teaching standards, providing school supplies, supporting mentor programs, exploring alternative education models and advocating for community awareness of the value of education for girls.
She has campaigned for Oxfam at the 2005 Hong Kong WTO meeting, for the their Fair Trade Campaign and travelled with them in North Kenya and at the border of Darfur and Chad with a group of women leaders in 2007 and contributed to the video for the In My Name Campaign with Will I Am from The Black Eyed Peas. She has hosted the Mo Ibrahim Foundation's Prize for Achievement in African Leadership in Alexandria, Egypt on November 26th, 2007 and on November 15th, 2008
Ae Ae
Angélique Kidjo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Scraping for pearls on the roadside
There's a force stronger than nature
Keeps her will alive
This is how she's dying
She's dying to survive
Don't know what she is made of
I would like to be that brave
There is a stone in my heart
She lives a life she didn't choose
And it hurts like brand new shoes
And it hurts like brand new shoes
There is a woman in Somalia
The sun gives her no mercy
The same sky we lay under
Burns her to the bone
Long as afternoon shadows
It's gonna take her to get home
Each grain carefully wrapped up
Pearls for her little girl
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
She cries to the heaven above
There is a stone in my heart
She lives in a world she didn't choose
And it hurts like brand new shoes
And it hurts like brand new shoes
Angélique Kidjo’s “Ae Ae” is a powerful ballad that tells the story of a woman in Somalia who works tirelessly to scrape for pearls on the side of the road. Despite her difficult circumstances, the woman remains strong and resilient, relying on a force stronger than nature to keep her will to survive alive. The lyrics paint a picture of a woman who has no choice but to live in a world that she did not choose, enduring the scorching heat of the sun and the harshness of everyday life just to provide for her family.
The chorus of the song is particularly poignant, as it speaks to the woman’s inner strength and the pain that she experiences on a daily basis: “There is a stone in my heart, she lives in a world she didn't choose, and it hurts like brand new shoes.” This comparison to brand new shoes highlights the rawness of the pain that the woman experienced, and the fact that she is constantly reminded of it as she goes about her daily life. Despite this, the woman remains determined to survive and provide for her children.
Overall, “Ae Ae” is a beautiful tribute to the resilience of women like the one that Kidjo sings about. It encourages listeners to recognize the strength within themselves and the power of persisting in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
There is a woman in Somalia
This song is about a particular woman living in Somalia.
Scraping for pearls on the roadside
Despite all odds, this woman works hard to find pearls on the roadside to make ends meet.
There's a force stronger than nature
This woman has an inner strength that is even more powerful than the forces of nature around her.
Keeps her will alive
This strength keeps her desire to live alive, despite the harsh conditions she faces.
This is how she's dying
However, this constant struggle to survive is slowly taking a toll on her.
She's dying to survive
Her desire to survive is so strong that it is literally killing her.
Don't know what she is made of
The singer is in awe of the woman's strength and bravery, and wishes she knew what made her so resilient.
I would like to be that brave
The singer admires the woman's bravery so much that she wishes she could emulate it.
She cries to the heaven above
In moments of despair, the woman cries out to a higher power for help and guidance.
There is a stone in my heart
The singer feels a heavy weight in her own heart as she sings about the struggles of this woman.
She lives a life she didn't choose
The woman did not choose the circumstances she was born into or lives in, but must still persevere.
And it hurts like brand new shoes
This life of struggle and hardship is painful and uncomfortable, like breaking in a new pair of shoes.
The same sky we lay under
The singer recognizes that the same sky that she enjoys looking at is not as kind to the woman in Somalia.
Burns her to the bone
The harsh sun scorches the woman's skin and causes her immense pain.
Long as afternoon shadows
The woman's work day is long, lasting until the shadows are cast in the late afternoon.
It's gonna take her to get home
The woman must endure a long journey home after a long day of work.
Each grain carefully wrapped up
Despite the difficulty of her work, the woman takes care to wrap each grain carefully to bring home to her family.
Pearls for her little girl
The woman is working hard to provide for her daughter, gathering pearls to give to her.
Hallelujah
This line could be interpreted as either a joyous exclamation or a mournful prayer.
She lives in a world she didn't choose
Again, the singer emphasizes that the woman did not choose the hardships she faces on a daily basis.
And it hurts like brand new shoes
This final repeated line underscores the painful nature of the woman's existence, like constantly being forced to wear ill-fitting shoes.
Writer(s): JEAN HEBRAIL, MOTA, ANGELIQUE KIDJO
Contributed by Luke A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Kwame Atoapoma Oteanankanduro
on Summertime
Awesome! Haa, I want the lyrics in the language she sang in.