And with Africa facing new challenges - from
Ebola to extremists opposed to girls'
education - she is vocal in her criticism of
Western depictions of the continent.
"Do you think everybody in Africa has Ebola?"
she asks on Talk to Al Jazeera. "We didn't
invent Ebola. It's just a disease that exists
there. Like, are we going to be blamed for
inventing malaria too? If there is an Ebola
outbreak in the Western world, will the media
in the West treat it the same way?"
She also expressed her frustration with the
way Western media portray Africa as a
continent steeped in violence, victimhood and
corruption.
"A success story in Africa doesn't interest any
media," she says. "They are so eager and
hungry for horrible stories from Africa. Why? It
looks like the West is the hyena, feeding on
the misery of the African people. They should
be ashamed doing this."
On the topic of terrorism, she is crushing in
her criticism of ISIL but urges an analysis of
why young people are joining the group.
"Everybody wants to fight ISIS. Why can't we
just do something better for people and
remove the legitimacy of all those crazy
extremists that are there just for the pleasure
of killing people and for power?" she asks.
Now in her mid-50's, Kidjo has just written
her life story, Spirit Rising , and released a new
album.
“ A success story in Africa doesn't
interest any media. They are so eager
and hungry for horrible stories from
Africa. Why? It looks like the West is
the hyena, feeding on the misery of the
African people.
Angelique Kidjo talks to Al Jazeera.
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