Africa’s ageless music virtuoso, and Grammy Awards winner, Angélique Kidjo has been a shooting star projecting the sounds of Africa and the stories to the international space and diverse audiences. Her decades-long contribution, on Tuesday night, received one of its most significant recognitions when the Beninese singer was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
This honour makes the music legend Africa’s first musician and also Black African performer to receive a star on the renowned Hollywood landmark, marking a historic point in her enviable career and also in the global recognition of African music.
Music journalist Emmanuel Daraloye, who has had more than 1,000 music reviews published and also has twice been recognised by Black Pride Magazine among the top three Nigerian music journalists, recently featured on News Central, on the 23rd of August, 2026, to discuss Kidjo’s exceptional honour, the rapid growth of African music’s global influence and the changing patterns of music marketing in the digital era. Daraloye was hosted by Mazino and Queen Celestine.
‘Kidjo’s latest recognition is proof that the world is paying attention to African music,’ Daraloye said. Speaking more on the essence of this honour, Daraloye noted that listening to African music and also paying rapt attention to it are quite two sides of a coin. For the music journalist, Kidjo’s recognition stands not as a one-woman achievement, but a totem, acknowledging the vast contributions of African musicians to global culture.
‘One thing I find really inspiring is the singer’s continuous mention of Africa’s influence during the celebration of her achievement, insisting that African music has played a foundational role in the development of music across the world,’ Daraloye stated.
He noted that this consciousness about Africa’s musical influence is not always evident among contemporary Nigerian artists, including Burna Boy, Davido and Wizkid, stressing the importance of understanding and communicating the history behind African music’s global rise.
Speaking further on the importance of Kidjo’s achievement to African Music, the two time Black Pride Magazine top three Nigerian music journalist awardee, noted that Angelique Kidjo’s influence cuts beyond music to activism, advocacy, humanitarianism, and social inclusivity.
When asked about the importance of the Angelique Kidjo generation in creating pathways for today’s globally recognised African stars, Daraloye placed her career within a much longer history of African music.
‘To answer that, we have to remember the likes of King Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obe, Fela Anikulapo Kuti and a bevy others, whose generation of artists laid the foundation for today’s African Music. Right from selling out forms to influencing lives and cultures, these pioneer legends have set the pace and made the world more aware about African Music. It’s because of their influence that record labels are not coming into Africa to invest in Music,’ he said.
Daraloye’s conversation on News Central therefore placed the current global success of African music in that wider historical context. Now, the ‘new cats’ as fondly called dominate international charts, collaborate with global artists and shut down diverse famous and large venues around the world, but African musicians of Kidjo’s generation had already spent decades in creating those pathways for the continent’s sounds to travel farther.
There has been nothing like the solo-rise of Afrobeats, and other African genres. The phenomenon has been sculpted by years of diverse experimentations, cultural exchanges and the consistency of earlier artists who drew the attention of international audiences to the sounds, even at a point in time when the industry has limited resources or opportunities.
For Daraloye, the greater heights of African music in the world is unmatched, lately with Afrobeats and diverse other sounds darting into audiences across Europe, the Americas and other parts of the world. However, it is observed that the huge success of younger African artists can be linked to the efforts of artists such as Kidjo, one whose career has shown glaringly that artists could build sustainable international recognition while being rooted to their cultural identities.
The interview’s swift turn to the two-headed roles of record labels got an affirmed positivity of the institutions in promoting African music and equally supporting the artists.
‘You can’t do without record labels. Because, they have an existing structure needed for musical promotion.’ Daraloye answered.
He also criticised what he described as a limited understanding of history among some contemporary music stars, arguing that greater awareness of Africa’s cultural and musical heritage would help artists represent the continent more effectively on international platforms.
Daraloye urged contemporary artists to look beyond music, learn from the mastery of legends such as Kidjo and work collectively towards advancing the interests of African music. He likewise clamoured for oneness among Nigerian music artists, and also a dead end to the series of violence and division within the industry.
On streams and finances, he argued that artists in Nigeria really benefit relatively from streams and that a big reason is that live performances have steadily been a major source of income among others. He also pointed to insecurity as one of the factors affecting the ability of artists to organise concerts across Nigeria. It is difficult for artists to hold shows across all 36 states when security to large gatherings pose a threat. This is among reasons prominent Nigerian artists increasingly take their concerts to audiences outside the country.
To support musicians and strengthen the creative sector, Daraloye urged the government to provide artists with loans and grants while restoring peace and security across the country.
His appearance brought together two important dimensions of African music’s journey: the decades-long struggle for international recognition and the new digital possibilities available to contemporary artists.
Kidjo’s Hollywood Walk of Fame honour also represents the recognised historical side of a career built over decades and an acknowledgement of African music’s contribution to the global cultural space. Meanwhile, the conversation around streams and digital promotion, represents the future, where musicians increasingly have the power to take their work directly to audiences across the world.
For Daraloye, Kidjo’s achievement is a reminder that African music’s present global success has a history behind it. The stars dominating the world today are part of a larger journey shaped by artists who came before them and helped expand the possibilities of what African music could achieve internationally.
Kidjo’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is consequently more than a celebration of one extraordinary career. This is a another acknowledgement of the wealth of Africa’s music history, influence and the continuous global relevance and cultural conversation.