Pushkin

According to Time magazine, singer Angelique Kijo is Africa's premier diva.

In addition to rack-in-up prestigious accolades throughout her 40-year career,

Angelique has always leveraged her success to protect and educate young girls living in subsaharan Africa.

Angelique Kijo started out singing traditional music as a teenager in her native Benin West Africa.

In 1983, she escapes the conflict riddled Benin for Paris, where she studied music and eventually married a French music producer.

Angelique became one of Paris's most popular live performers, and in 1991, she signed her first record deal with Island Records.

Angelique has since released 16 albums and won four world music rannes.

Her latest album, Mother Nature, was released in June and features young African musicians like Sample the Great and Bernaboy.

On today's episode, Bruce Hadlam talks to Angelique Kijo about the nature of African rhythm and why it can confuse western musicians.

She also explains how she lets her songs dictate what language her lyrics should be, and how she managed to escape her home country despite being a recognizable national pop star.

This is Broken Record, liner notes for the digital age. I'm Justin Richmond.

Here's Bruce Hadlam with Angelique Kijo.

It is so nice to have you here.

Do I need my headphone?

No, I don't think so. You don't like headphones?

I hate studios. I only like stage.

You don't like studios?

I mean, I come from a culture where you want to play, you just get the drums out.

And you have fun if you're coming around, I start on stage when I was six years old.

I was 20 when I first stepped a foot in the studio and I hated it.

I was doing my first album and I have to record from 10 a.m. in the morning till 8 p.m.

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