Five-time Grammy winner Angélique Kidjo is set to make history as the first Black African artiste to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Beninese music icon will receive the 2,854th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 18 at 7011 Hollywood Boulevard, directly across from the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The honour will be presented in the Recording category.
Joining Kidjo at the ceremony will be internationally acclaimed actor and four-time Academy Award nominee Willem Dafoe, alongside Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy and MusiCares.
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s decision to honour Angélique Kidjo recognises the remarkable impact of a music career spanning more than four decades. With nearly 20 albums, five Grammy Awards and a global cultural influence, Kidjo has built a legacy by blending West African musical traditions with jazz, funk and R&B, introducing African sounds and stories to audiences around the world.
Born in 1960 in what was then Dahomey, now the Republic of Benin, Angélique Kidjo began her recording career with the release of her debut album, Pretty, in 1981. In 1983, she moved to Paris to escape the civil unrest and political tensions under her country’s then-communist government, eventually settling in Brooklyn, New York, where she built a remarkable career in global music.
Kidjo’s achievements include five Grammy Awards, including Best Contemporary World Music Album in 2008 and four wins for Best Global Music Album between 2015 and 2022. She was also awarded the prestigious Polar Music Prize in 2023.
Over the course of her career, the Beninese icon has collaborated with some of the world’s biggest music stars, including Burna Boy, Sting, Alicia Keys, Peter Gabriel, John Legend and Bono, further cementing her influence across cultures and musical genres.
Angélique Kidjo’s 2026 album, HOPE!!, arrives at a defining moment in her remarkable career, as the Beninese music icon prepares to become the first Black African performer to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Released on April 24, 2026, the 16-track project is dedicated to her late mother and features cross-generational collaborations with artists including Davido, Ayra Starr and Pharrell Williams.
The album further reflects Kidjo’s enduring ability to bridge generations, cultures and musical styles, bringing together contemporary Afrobeats and global pop influences while remaining rooted in the traditions that have shaped her sound. In that sense, HOPE!! serves as a fitting reflection of a career that has carried African music from its traditional roots onto some of the world’s biggest stages.
As Kidjo prepares to have her name permanently etched into Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, HOPE!! offers a timely reminder that, even after more than four decades in music, her influence continues to evolve.
