Angélique Kidjo shares Mother Nature album

Mother Nature follows Kidjo’s 2019 Grammy Award-winning album Celia. It was published via Decca Records France, and arrives as her first collection of original songs in seven years, taking up her tally of collections to 18.

The new album is led by the Sting-assisted title track, ‘Dignity’ featuring Yemi Alade and ‘Africa, One Of A Kind’, which reimagines Salif Keïta’s 1995 classic ‘Africa’.

Thematically, the LP finds the powerful-voiced singer mull over two primary subjects: climate change and legacy. “When I became pregnant, it was obvious to ask myself the question: What kind of world are we going to leave to our children and beyond?” she told Apple Music. “And it became more and more relevant as I started seeing the proof of climate change – let me start writing a love letter to Mother Earth, Mother Nature.”

Kidjo added that the album, which unfolds with a wide array of sonic influences ranging from traditional African sounds to jazz, soul, contemporary pop, R&B and hip hop, among others, is a “conversation with the younger generation – the transmission of culture as our grandparents have done.” Thus, Mother Nature, a highly collaborative project, guests a new generation of musicians from Africa and the African diaspora, including fellow Grammy honouree Burna Boy, Mr Eazi, EARTHGANG, and Sampa The Great.

Kidjo says Mother Nature has been in the works since 1993. However, the pandemic lockdown allowed her “the luxury of time to spread my wings and to do the music the way I wanted, without stressing,” she added.

A four-time Grammy-winning musician, Kidjo's roles also include the titles author and activist. She is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador who was named on the BBC’s list of the 100 most inspiring and influential women of 2020.

The latest album follows her performance at the National Geographic’s Earth Day Eve 2021 concert in April and at the launch of the UN’s World Oceans Day on 8 June.