Angélique Kidjo Makes Hollywood History as First Black African Honoured on Walk of Fame

Beninese music icon Angélique Kidjo has made history as the first Black African to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, marking a major milestone for African music and its global influence.

The five-time Grammy Award winner was honoured on Tuesday during a ceremony in Hollywood, where figures from the film and music industries gathered to celebrate a career spanning more than four decades.

Kidjo, 66, used the moment to reflect on Africa’s contribution to global music, telling the audience that the continent’s influence is often underestimated.

“We Africans don’t know what we’ve given to the world,” she said. “Without us, there’s no music possible on this planet.”

After thanking her family and team, Kidjo broke into song before the assembled audience, bringing a musical touch to a ceremony that recognised not only her commercial success, but also her wider cultural impact.

Born in Benin, Kidjo has built an international career over more than 40 years, releasing 18 albums and becoming one of Africa’s most recognisable musical voices on the global stage.

Her influence has extended well beyond record sales and awards. Kidjo has previously been named among Time magazine’s 100 most influential people, while the BBC included her among Africa’s 50 most iconic figures. The Guardian has also recognised her among the world’s 100 most inspiring people.

Her Hollywood honour adds another landmark to a career that has consistently carried African sounds, identity and storytelling into international spaces.

Harvey Mason Jr. of the Recording Academy described Kidjo as a “rare artist”, praising the way her work has strengthened connections across the global music community.

He said the star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame would serve as a permanent symbol of her achievements, while her greater legacy would remain in the people she has inspired, the barriers she has broken and the connections she has built around the world.

Actor Willem Dafoe also paid tribute to Kidjo, recalling the impact of seeing her perform live.

He praised the energy, commitment and intensity of her performances, describing her as “the hardest-working woman in show business”.

But Dafoe said Kidjo’s humanitarian work was equally significant.

Through the Batonga Foundation, Kidjo has worked to empower girls and young women across Africa, connecting her international profile with efforts aimed at expanding opportunity and supporting young women.

Dafoe described that work as a genuine extension of Kidjo’s music rather than a symbolic celebrity cause, saying her artistic and humanitarian efforts both reflected a belief in connection, love and understanding.

Kidjo’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star is therefore more than an individual accolade. It is also a moment of recognition for an African artist whose career has demonstrated that music rooted in the continent can command global audiences without surrendering its identity.

For Africa, the significance of this milestone lies in visibility as much as achievement. African music is now one of the continent’s most powerful cultural exports, but artists such as Kidjo helped open global doors long before African sounds enjoyed their current international prominence. Her star in Hollywood is a reminder that African influence on world culture is neither new nor peripheral. It is deeply embedded in the global story of music, and as younger African artists continue to reach audiences across borders, Kidjo’s achievement stands as both recognition of the past and an invitation to imagine how much further the continent’s cultural voice can travel.

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