June 14, (THEWILL)- Grammy Award-winning Beninese singer, Angelique Kidjo, says she was worried about the safety of the people she knew in Nigeria during the #EndSARS protests last year.
The singer disclosed this during an interview with Apple Music 1.
Kidjo said: “When the #EndSARS movement started in Lagos, I was worried for everybody— my family members and other people I know. I then decided to reach out to Yemi Alade to find out how she was doing, especially when they started shooting at people. She (Alade) said to me, ‘Mum, I’m afraid. They are killing us’. I then told her to please stay off the streets. Let’s use music as a message of hope and tell what you want to say to people.”
Speaking on why she decided to feature younger African artistes (such as Mr. Eazi and Yemi Alade) on her latest album, she said , “I was saying to myself that I had been so vocal about the needs, struggle, success and resilience of my continent. I thought it was about time that we brought young artistes from Africa into the conversation, for them to give us the view of which Africa they want and which society they want to live in. (It was about having a conversation on) how they can participate artistically, economically and politically in the world they want to live in, and also how they can be the change they want to see.”
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