Carnegie Hall

Four-time Grammy Award winner Angélique Kidjo is one of the greatest artists in international music today, a creative force with 14 albums to her name. As a performer, Kidjo’s striking voice, stage presence, and fluency in multiple cultures and languages have won respect from her peers and expanded her following across national borders. She has cross-pollinated the West African traditions of her childhood in Benin with elements of American R&B, funk, and jazz, as well as influences from Europe and Latin America.

After exploring the roads of the African diaspora—through Brazil, Cuba, and the United States—and offering an electrifying take on the Talking Heads’ album Remain In Light (called “one of the year’s most vibrant albums” by The Washington Post), the French-Beninese singer is now reflecting on an icon of the Americas: celebrated salsa singer Celia Cruz. Kidjo’s album Celia divests itself of the glamour to investigate the African roots of the Cuban-born woman who became the “Queen of Salsa.”

Kidjo advocates on behalf of children as a UNICEF Ambassador. She also created her own charitable foundation, Batonga, dedicated to support the education of young girls in Africa. The BBC, Forbes, and The Guardian have all highlighted her importance to the people of the African continent. She is the recipient of the 2015 Crystal Award given by the World Economic Forum, the 2016 Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award, and the 2018 German Sustainability Award. Kidjo was also named the 2018 Harvard University Jazz Master.

Brittany Howard blasted onto the music scene as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the American blues rock band Alabama Shakes in 2010. The group lived up to its namesake by shaking up the music landscape with its indelible roots-rock sound. Howard has been nominated for 11 Grammy Awards, of which she has won four, including three for the Alabama Shakes’ groundbreaking second album, Sound & Color, in 2016.

Fans and critics alike have praised Howard’s first solo album, Jaime, which was released last September. She titled the album after her sister, who taught her to play the piano and write poetry, and who died of cancer when they were still teenagers. Jaime was named “Album of the Year” in 2019 by NPR, and was on many publications’ year-end lists, including The New York Times, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian, to name a few. The album’s lead single, “History Repeats,” garnered Grammy nominations for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance.

Born in 1953 in the Fouta town of Podor, Baaba Maal studied music in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, and Paris, before embarking on a two-year musical pilgrimage around West Africa with his longtime friend Mansour Seck. He then recorded his first albums with Seck, including the desert blues classic Djam Leelii. In 2001, he worked with Hans Zimmer on the soundtrack to Ridley Scott’s hit film Black Hawk Down.

Maal’s most recent album, The Traveller, features members of the world-renowned group Mumford & Sons. Representing both a new direction musically and a powerful summary of his life’s work, he reunited with his longtime producer John Leckie on the tracks “Peace” and “War.” In 2016, Baaba collaborated again with Mumford & Sons on a four-track EP, Johannesburg, recorded in South Africa. Two singles, “There Will Be Time” and “Wona,” both achieved considerable chart success. He also recorded the song “Wakanda,” part of the Grammy- and Academy Awarding–winning score to the film Black Panther.

Maal started his own music festival in Fouta, Blues du Fleuve (Blues of the River), in December 2005 to draw attention to the culture of this region. The 2017 festival was the subject of Kevin McDonald’s documentary film Return to Podor. Maal’s latest and most ambitious project is the establishment of the organization NANN-K to support people from Senegal and throughout Africa in developing careers in agriculture.

Yemi Eberechi Alade (popularly known as “Yemi Alade”) is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and actress. With four albums, one EP, and numerous hit singles under her belt, she is one of the biggest Afro-pop female artists on the African continent. She is a BET Awards nominee for Best International Act: Africa (2015 and 2016), a MOBO Awards nominee for Best International Act (2014 and 2015), and a two-time Best Female honoree at the MTV Africa Music Awards (2015 and 2016). Alade has also been nominated for African Music Video, City People Entertainment, YEM, and ELOY awards.

Alade is the first African female Afro-pop artist to hit more than 100 million views on YouTube and Vevo with her hit single “Johnny,” which is now the most-viewed video from an African female artist. She is also the first Afro-pop female to have more than one million YouTube subscribers. Throughout her career, Alade has accumulated over 200 million streams across all music platforms and more than 390 million views on YouTube, making her one of the most-viewed African artists of all time.