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
Ne Cédez Jamais
Angélique Kidjo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Non jamais
Non jamais
Ne cédez jamais
Et la foule sourde comme il se doit
Les bons gens vous montrent du doigt
Porte toujours ce que tu crois
Même s'ils disent que ça ne se fait pas
Il n'y a pas de vérité dans le silence
Même si c'est perdu d'avance
S'ils vous méprisent de votre différence
Vous pouvez plier mais ne cédez jamais
Vous pouvez plier mais ne cédez jamais
Jusqu'à vous bruler mais ne cédez jamais
Non ne cédez jamais
Jamais non jamais
Trop d'évidences qui les bercent
De certitudes qu'on leur déverse
En laissant l'histoire plus que soi
Il faut servir toujours ce que l'on doit
Le vent de l'histoire les emporte
L'amour est la seule idée forte
S'ils sont les valets des rois
Reste fidèle à tout ce que tu portes
Vous pouvez plier mais ne cédez jamais
Jusqu'à vous bruler mais ne cédez jamais
Non jamais
Non jamais
Non jamais
Ne cédez jamais
Non jamais
Non jamais
Non jamais
Ne cédez jamais
Les combats se gagent sur la distance
Il n'y a pas de vérité dans le silence
Même si c'est perdu d'avance Ne cédez jamais
In Angélique Kidjo's song "Ne Cédez Jamais," Kidjo advises against giving in and surrendering to others' expectations. The phrase "Ne Cédez Jamais" translates to "Never Give Up" in English. The repeated refrain of "Non jamais" emphasizes the importance of not giving up, no matter how difficult the situation may be. Kidjo suggests that even if people try to discourage you for being different, you should always stand up for what you believe in. She reminds us that all battles are won with persistence and that there is no truth in silence.
The song seems to be a call for the underdog to keep fighting, even if it feels like a lost cause. Kidjo speaks about the importance of history and staying true to oneself, and how love is the only powerful idea that can change the world. She encourages her listeners to resist being swayed by popular opinion and to continue to strive for what is right. Despite the challenges and the likelihood of losing, the song's message is clear: never give up.
Line by Line Meaning
Non jamais
Never give up
Ne cédez jamais
Do not yield
Et la foule sourde comme il se doit
And the crowd deaf as it should be
Les bons gens vous montrent du doigt
Good people point at you
Porte toujours ce que tu crois
Always carry what you believe
Même s'ils disent que ça ne se fait pas
Even if they say it's not right
Tous les combats se gagnent sur la distance
All battles are won over time
Il n'y a pas de vérité dans le silence
There is no truth in silence
Même si c'est perdu d'avance
Even if it's lost in advance
S'ils vous méprisent de votre différence
If they despise you for your difference
Vous pouvez plier mais ne cédez jamais
You can bend but don't yield
Jusqu'à vous brûler mais ne cédez jamais
Until you burn but don't yield
Trop d'évidences qui les bercent
Too many obvious things that lull them
De certitudes qu'on leur déverse
Of certainties that are poured on them
En laissant l'histoire plus que soi
Leaving history above themselves
Il faut servir toujours ce que l'on doit
One must always serve what they owe
Le vent de l'histoire les emporte
The wind of history carries them away
L'amour est la seule idée forte
Love is the only strong idea
S'ils sont les valets des rois
If they are the king's servants
Reste fidèle à tout ce que tu portes
Stay faithful to everything you carry
Non jamais
Never give up
Non jamais
Never give up
Non jamais
Never give up
Les combats se gagnent sur la distance
Battles are won over time
Il n'y a pas de vérité dans le silence
There is no truth in silence
Même si c'est perdu d'avance
Even if it's lost in advance
Ne cédez jamais
Do not yield
Contributed by Kennedy H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@falilamoussa5784
Non jamais
Non jamais
Non jamais
Ne cédez jamais
Et la foule sourde comme il se doit
Les bons gens vous montrent du doigt
Porte toujours ce que tu crois
Même s'ils disent que ça ne se fait pas
Tous les combats se gagnent sur la distance
Il n'y a pas de vérité dans le silence
Même si c'est perdu d'avance
S'ils vous méprisent de votre différence
Vous pouvez plier mais ne cédez jamais
Vous pouvez plier mais ne cédez jamais
Jusqu'à vous bruler mais ne cédez jamais
Non ne cédez jamais
Jamais non jamais
Trop d'évidences qui les bercent
De certitudes qu'on leur déverse
En laissant l'histoire plus que soi
Il faut servir toujours ce que l'on doit
Le vent de l'histoire les emporte
L'amour est la seule idée forte
S'ils sont les valets des rois
Reste fidèle à tout ce que tu portes
Vous pouvez plier mais ne cédez jamais
Jusqu'à vous bruler mais ne cédez jamais
Non jamais
Non jamais
Non jamais
Ne cédez jamais
Non jamais
Non jamais
Non jamais
Ne cédez jamais
Les combats se gagent sur la distance
Il n'y a pas de vérité dans le silence
Même si c'est perdu d'avance Ne cédez jamais
@mpangasergio3043
Une vraie source de motivation pour l’éternité✊🏻🙏❤️😍😘
@brigittendjiba9570
Qui écoute cette grande diva en 2020 comme moi?
@jidetaiwo3830
C'est moi.
@marcellintiokengmeghule8188
Cette chanson est d'une pertinence extrêmement profonde, une réelle source de motivation pour des moments de doute, pour renforcer nos convictions.
@arcentretien9099
Qui aime cette chanson comme moi en 2020? Toujours tendance 💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻😊😊
@naomkabeditresbellechanson86
Oui je ne céderais jamais
@x-orjador5577
Cette chanson passait sur France inter dans les années 2001 ou 2002.
@hugo-di6xm
2023?
@marieangeekedi8686
Thans for this song that gives strenght, courage et hope
@Dk-dg8du
Cette chanson me rappelle bcp de bon moment