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
Ife
Angélique Kidjo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Baba wa
(repeat)
You can make me out to be a fool
Even say I lost my mind
I know in my heart there's no room
You're the one I need to find
And I know I need someone
To hold my hand and carry me home
My ancestor I'm lost in the storm
Let me call your name (Baba wa)
I'm the one you need (Baba wa)
I'll lean on you (Baba wa)
I've got faith in you (Baba wa)
Let me call your name (Baba wa)
I'm the one you need (Baba wa)
Let me see your face (Baba wa)
Lead me to your place (Baba wa)
I feel your strength inside my soul
And your spirit next to mine
You answer my call, fulfill my needs
You're the only one I needed to find
Let me call your name (Baba wa)
I'm the one you need (Baba wa)
I'll lean on you (Baba wa)
I've got faith in you (Baba wa)
Let me call your name (Baba wa)
I'm the one you need (Baba wa)
Let me see your face (Baba wa)
Lead me to your place (Baba wa)
Let me call your name (Baba wa)
I'm the one you need (Baba wa)
I'll lean on you (Baba wa)
I've got faith in you (Baba wa)
Let me call your name (Baba wa)
I'm the one you need (Baba wa)
Let me see your face (Baba wa)
Lead me to your place (Baba wa)
Baba wa
In Angélique Kidjo's song "Ife," the lyrics revolve around a theme of seeking direction and guidance in times of difficulty. Through the repetition of the phrase "Baba wa," which means "our father" in Yoruba, the song speaks to the idea of looking to a higher power, the spiritual guide or ancestor, for support and strength. The verses are filled with emotions of loneliness and feeling lost, but the chorus suggests that with the guidance of Baba, the singer has faith and confidence.
The opening lines set the tone for the song, where the singer acknowledges that people may think she is foolish or out of her mind. However, she firmly believes that the feeling of emptiness can only be filled by Baba, the spiritual guide. She describes feeling alone at night and needing someone to hold her hand and lead her home. Through the repetition of the chorus, the singer calls out to Baba for guidance, expressing her trust in him and affirming that he is the only one who can fulfill her needs.
Overall, the song "Ife" is a powerful ode to the power of spiritual guidance in times of hardship. It reminds us that sometimes we need to let go of our fears and insecurities and put our trust in a higher power.
Line by Line Meaning
Baba wa (Ife)
Oh my father (Love)
Baba wa
Oh my father
You can make me out to be a fool
You can try to make me look foolish
Even say I lost my mind
Or even claim that I've gone crazy
I know in my heart there's no room
But I am aware in my heart that there is no space
You're the one I need to find
And you are the one that I need to locate
At night I find I feel alone
During the night, I realize that I am alone
And I know I need someone
And I comprehend that I require someone
To hold my hand and carry me home
To hold my hand and bring me back home
My ancestor I'm lost in the storm
My ancestor, I am lost amidst this storm
I feel your strength inside my soul
It is your strength, which I sense inside my soul
And your spirit next to mine
And I feel your spirit, next to mine
You answer my call, fulfill my needs
You respond to my call, and fulfill all my needs
You're the only one I needed to find
You are the sole person that I had to discover
Let me call your name (Baba wa)
Allow me to call out your name (Oh my father)
I'm the one you need (Baba wa)
I am the one that you require (Oh my father)
I'll lean on you (Baba wa)
I will depend on you (Oh my father)
I've got faith in you (Baba wa)
I have faith in you (Oh my father)
Let me see your face (Baba wa)
Let me gaze upon your face (Oh my father)
Lead me to your place (Baba wa)
Take me to your location (Oh my father)
Contributed by Cole K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@soenkem7704
Baba wa (Ife)
Baba wa
(repeat)
You can make me out to be a fool
Even say I lost my mind
I know in my heart there's no room
You're the one I need to find
At night I find I feel alone
And I know I need someone
To hold my hand and carry me home
My ancestor I'm lost in the storm
Let me call your name (Baba wa)
I'm the one you need (Baba wa)
I'll lean on you (Baba wa)
I've got faith in you (Baba wa)
Let me call your name (Baba wa)
I'm the one you need (Baba wa)
Let me see your face (Baba wa)
Lead me to your place (Baba wa)
I feel your strength inside my soul
And your spirit next to mine
You answer my call, fulfill my needs
You're the only one I needed to find
Let me call your name (Baba wa)
I'm the one you need (Baba wa)
I'll lean on you (Baba wa)
I've got faith in you (Baba wa)
Let me call your name (Baba wa)
I'm the one you need (Baba wa)
Let me see your face (Baba wa)
Lead me to your place (Baba wa)
Let me call your name (Baba wa)
I'm the one you need (Baba wa)
I'll lean on you (Baba wa)
I've got faith in you (Baba wa)
Let me call your name (Baba wa)
I'm the one you need (Baba wa)
Let me see your face (Baba wa)
Lead me to your place (Baba wa)
Baba wa
Songwriter: Herbail Jean / Kidjo Angelique
Songtext von Ife © Universal Music - Careers, Jazz Horn Music Corp., Warner Chappell Music France Sa, Aye, Ayeile Music Inc., A·k Company Limited, Jazz Horn Music Corporation, SPIRIT TWO MUSIC OBO AYEILE MUSIC INC
@jonathann724
I've had this song stuck in the deep back of my mind since 1995
@rodrigod.7685
SAME HERE!!! And here I am in 2020 during a pandemic trying to find out who did this song!! I appreciate the poster for putting this on - it is going on my usb stick in my car!! Peace to all and stay WELL!
@andrewjb98
I used to watch this every night on vhs before bed on school nights. The first thing I'd do when I wake up was turn the vcr back on, hit stop, and rewind until you heard the click/gear turn to let you know you have been kind and have rewind..ed. Then later that night as a child, I just turn on the box-screen T.V., hit play on the VCR, and boom. When Nature Calls has begun from the start; once again for the 73rd straiggt night in a row.
@hotjerry2750
You guys, me too.
@TheLivingDeadGirl89
Same here and it is 2021 lol
@jamst123
Same
@TheLivingDeadGirl89
This song has lived rent free in my mind for over 20yrs 😂🤣
@TheLivingDeadGirl89
Still coming back 😂
@NickGould50687
Yep it cslled squatters rights in mine!
@spikespiegel5434
Hahaha right?? I know exactly what you mean. I think it's because it's difficult to find. Not on Spotify!