Angélique Kidjo

Since Angélique Kidjo first burst onto the global scene over four decades ago, her music has provided a powerful transmission of pure unfettered joy. In the last few years alone, Kidjo has won the 2023 Polar Music Prize, been named to Time’s 100 Most Influential People list, and earned a Grammy for Best Global Music Album for 2021’s Mother Nature—earning a Guinness World Record for most Global Music Album awards won at the Grammys (five prizes to date).

HOPE!! is the 18th album in her discography. Dedicated to her late mother, it grew out of a period shaped by grief and renewal and affirms Kidjo as an artist whose joy serves as a unifying force and a conduit for healing. "I started singing when I was six years old, and I’m grateful every day that I still get to live my passion and do what I love with my life," she says. "At the same time I know that many people struggle to find joy, especially when there’s so much to worry about in our world today. With this album I wanted to put some fire back in people’s hearts, and show how much we need that joy and hope to keep our humanity going." She also says, "My mother used to tell me that hope is the bedrock of our existence... If you have hope, you can overcome anything."

HOPE!! continues the cross-generational collaborative approach Kidjo used on Mother Nature. Collaborators and contributors on the album include:
- Pharrell Williams (three songs, including "Bando", "No Stopping Us", and "For Me")
- Nile Rodgers
- Diane Warren (wrote "Sunlight To My Soul")
- The Cavemen
- PJ Morton
- Florent Pagny
- The Soweto Gospel Choir
- Charlie Wilson (background vocals on "For Me")
- Quavo (featured on "Bando")
- IZA
- Ayra Starr
- Shungudzo (co-writer on "Big Heart")
- Dadju
- Diamond Platnumz
- Davido
- Fally Ipupa
- Fally Ipupa and The Cavemen on "Nadi Balance"

Producers and arrangers mentioned include Shizzi, Philippe Saisse, Louddaaa, Derrick Hodge (philharmonic arrangement on "Malaika"), and others. Musicians contributing include Angelina Sherie (violin) and Kokoroko’s Sheila Maurice-Grey (horns).

Track highlights described in the album notes:
- "Bando" (one of three songs created with Pharrell Williams, featuring Pharrell and Quavo) opens the record; the title references a slang term for "abandoned house" and speaks to the capacity to rise above circumstance.
- "No Stopping Us" and "For Me" (the latter called "an anthem for Africa") are additional Pharrell collaborations; "For Me" features background vocals from Charlie Wilson.
- "Sunlight To My Soul" (written by Diane Warren) is described as wildly uplifting and a Grammy nominee for Best Global Music Performance, with harmonies by the Soweto Gospel Choir.
- "You Can" is a delicate outpouring written for Kidjo’s daughter Naïma Hebrail Kidjo.
- "Aye Kan" features Ayra Starr and meditates on the need for open, honest communication.
- "Big Heart" (co-written with Shungudzo) is a multilingual rallying cry celebrating compassion; it includes a phrase Kidjo’s mother often said: "Kindness is a bulletproof vest."
- "Oyaya" is a funk-leaning track featuring Nile Rodgers’ guitar work and vocals from IZA in Portuguese and English.
- "Fall On Me" is a duet with PJ Morton that contemplates cycles of nature and the restorative power of love.
- "Jerusalema" is a symphonic interpretation of Master KG’s global hit, created by Kidjo for the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris in 2024 and noted as a Grammy nominee for Best Global Music Performance.
- "Malaika" closes the album as a reimagining of Kidjo’s 1992 song, with a philharmonic arrangement by Derrick Hodge and guest vocals from Florent Pagny.
- Other collaborations include Dadju on "Superwoman," Diamond Platnumz on "Kakua," Davido on "Joy," and The Cavemen joining Kidjo on dance numbers such as "I’m On Fire." Kidjo calls "I’m On Fire" her "defiance song."

Kidjo’s humanitarian work is also noted: she launched the Batonga foundation (supporting the education of adolescent girls in Africa) and has served as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador. Other recognitions mentioned include being named one of the 100 most inspiring women by The Guardian, called the most influential woman in Africa by Forbes, and receiving the 2016 Ambassador of Conscience Award from Amnesty International. She marked 40 years of music and activism with a special performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall in fall 2023.

As described by Kidjo: "Sometimes it feels as though the world is losing hope at such a rapid pace that it’s endangering our humanity... My hope is that these songs bring happiness to everyone, but also remind them that we were all put here to help and love each other."