Meshell Ndegeocello Anchors Angélique Kidjo’s “Celia”
Vocalist Angélique Kidjo’s new album, Celia, is a tribute to salsa queen Celiz Cruz, but it’s more than an album of covers. Kidjo brings out the African influences of the Cuban-born singer’s music.
“As a child, I saw Celia Cruz singing in Benin and her energy and joy changed my life,” Kidjo says. “It was the first I was seeing a powerful woman performer on a stage. Her voice was percussive and her songs resonated in a mysterious way with me. Many years later, I learned she was singing the Yoruba songs that were carried out of Benin 400 years before.”
To bring her passion project to life, Kidjo enlisted the help of Tony Allen, David Donatien, Shabaka Hutchings, Sons Of Kemet And The Gangbé Brass Band, and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello. You can hear Ndegeocello make it groove on the track “Quimbara”:
Celia is available now on CD and as a digital download (iTunes and Amazon MP3).
Celia Track List:
- Cucala
- La Vida Es Un Carnaval
- Sahara
- Bailayemaya
- Toromata
- Elegua
- Quimbara
- Bemba Colora
- Oyadiosa
- Yemaya
