The Obsidian
Culture

Angélique Kidjo's 'Hope!!' and the Politics of Joy

The Beninese singer's new album opens with Pharrell and Quavo and proceeds, with deliberate brightness, through a roster of pan-African collaborators. It is a record that argues for joy without arguing for naïveté.

The Obsidian Desk

Kidjo has spent four decades insisting that joy is a serious artistic position. 'Hope!!' is, in that sense, of a piece with everything she has done — the difference is the company she keeps on it.

Davido on 'Joy.' Nile Rodgers and Iza on 'Oyaya.' Pharrell and Quavo on the opener 'Bando.' The collaborations are not novelty pairings; they trace a map of where popular African music is being made now, and where it is being heard.

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