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
Bala Bala
Angélique Kidjo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bala bala, bala bala
Bala djo min djo wa mon
Akete, akete, akete, douna
Douna, douna, o douna douna
Akete, akete, akete, douna
Anin we non wa we
O houndjo mon bala bala
Djo min djo wa mon
O hound
The song "Bala Bala" by Angélique Kidjo features a repetitive chorus of the phrase "bala bala", which is a nonsense term that is meant to evoke the joy and spontaneity of dance and celebration. The song has a lively, upbeat tempo, with a mix of traditional African rhythms and modern influences.
The verses of the song feature a mix of African language and French, and seem to tell a story about a woman named Houndjo and her connection to the music and dance around her. The lines "Anin we non wa we" suggest a sense of community and shared experience, while the repeated phrase "djo min djo wa mon" might be interpreted as a call to action, encouraging listeners to join in the dance.
Overall, "Bala Bala" is a song that celebrates the power of music and dance to bring people together and create a sense of joy and belonging. Through its energetic rhythm and fun, nonsensical phrases, it invites listeners to let loose and immerse themselves in the moment.
Line by Line Meaning
Bala bala, bala bala
Repetitive phrase with no significant meaning, used as a chant or chorus in the song
Bala djo min djo wa mon
Lyrics sung in Fon language of Benin, roughly translating to 'Keep playing the beat, my friend'
Akete, akete, akete, douna
Syllables representing the sounds of drums in the traditional music of West Africa
Douna, douna, o douna douna
More syllables representing the drums, used to add texture and rhythm to the song
Anin we non wa we
Fon language lyrics, likely meaning 'We all come together' or 'We unite ourselves'
O houndjo mon bala bala
Fon language lyrics, translating to 'My friend, play the beat'
Djo min djo wa mon
Fon language lyrics, roughly translating to 'Continuing playing the beat, my friend'
O hound
Fon language interjection, similar to 'Hey!' or 'Listen!'
Lyrics © WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC FRANCE
Written by: Jean Louis Pierre Hebrail, Angelique Kidjo
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kwame Atoapoma Oteanankanduro
on Summertime
Awesome! Haa, I want the lyrics in the language she sang in.