Angelique Kidjo - "Afirika" (aka "Mama Africa") video & lyrics with English translation

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a pancocojams series about the song "Afirika" (also known as "Mama Africa" and "Afrika") that has been performed throughout the world by Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo.

This post showcases a 2016 video of Angelique Kidjo singing "Afirika" ("Mama Africa") during a Grenada (Caribbean) music festival.

Information about Angelique Kidjo is included in this post along with lyrics to "Afirika" in Fongbe (Fon) & Yoruba, with English translations.

Some information about Fongbe (language) and Yoruba (language) is also included in this post along with an explanation of the Yoruba word "ase" (also given as "ashe" and "eshe").

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/02/angelique-kidjo-afirika-mama-africa-at.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. Part II showcases a video of Angelique Kidjo singing "Afirika" ("Mama Africa") at the Grammy Awards 2020.

My transcription of Angelique Kidjo's opening remarks at that performance are included in this post along with a few selected comments about audience participation at that concert.

Part II also showcases three additional videos* of Angelique Kidjo singing "Afirika" ("Mama Africa") and a few additional comments from those videos' discussion threads.

*These additional videos don't include the video that is showcased in Part I of this series.

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The content of this post is presented for cultural, linguistic, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Angelique Kidjo for her musical legacy. Thanks to the composer/s of this song and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Angelique Kidjo performing Mama Africa



Sabrina Francis, May 13, 2016

Angelique Kidjo performing Mama Africa during the Pure Grenada Music Festival.
-snip-
Here's a brief excerpt from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ang%C3%A9lique_Kidjo
"Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo,[1][2][3] known as Angélique Kidjo (born July 14, 1960), is a Beninese singer-songwriter, actress, and activist who is noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos....

Kidjo was born in Ouidah, Benin.[7] Her father is from the Fon people of Ouidah and her mother from the Yoruba people.

[...]

[in 1981] She recorded the album Pretty with the Cameroonian producer Ekambi Brilliant and her brother Oscar. It featured the songs "Ninive", "Gbe Agossi" and a tribute to the singer Bella Bellow, one of her role models. The success of the album allowed her to tour all over West Africa. Continuing political conflicts in Benin prevented her from being an independent artist in her own country and led her to relocate to Paris in 1983.

[...]

Awards and recognition
In 2010, the BBC's Focus On Africa Magazine included Kidjo in its list of the African continent's 50 most iconic figures, based on reader votes.[68] In 2011, The Guardian listed her as one of its Top 100 Women in art, film, music and fashion[69] and Kidjo is the first woman to be listed among "The 40 Most Powerful Celebrities in Africa" by Forbes magazine.[70] The Daily Telegraph in London described her as "The undisputed queen of African music" during the 2012 Olympic Games River of Music Festival.[71] In March 2013, National Public Radio (NPR) in America, called her "Africa's greatest living diva".[72] Kidjo is listed among the "2014 Most Influential Africans" by New African magazine and Jeune Afrique.[73][74] Forbes Afrique put Kidjo on the cover of their "100 most influential women" issue in 2015.[75] On June 6, 2013, Kidjo was elected vice-president of the Confédération Internationale des Sociétés d´Auteurs et Compositeurs (CISAC). She now resides in New York City,[76] where she is an occasional contributor to The New York Times.[77][78][79] Kidjo has received Honorary Doctorates from Yale University, Berklee College of Music and Middlebury College.[80][81][82]...

On January 27th, 2020, Angelique won the Best world music album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards"...
-snip-
Angelique Kidjo has won four Grammy awards for "World Music" and has had nine Grammy nominations. https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/ang%C3%A9lique-kidjo
-snip-
Here's some information about Grenada from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenada

"Grenada ... is a sovereign state in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself plus six smaller islands which lie to the north of the main island. It is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines."...

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LYRICS- AFIRIKA
[sung by Angelique Kidjo]

Min bi fon do africa gblé lo
Min wè na fon bo mon dèkpè ton
Min déssou sin alo min wè dé
Mindé ma nan lin dagbé min ton
Yé fon bo do yanyan ton do wè
Africa min bi sé ton wè
Min nou min gbè yanyan ton dido
Ashè é Maman, ashè é Maman Afirika, Maman Afirika
Ashè é Maman, ashè é Maman Afirika, Maman Afirika
Min dé lè tin bo dji djan yin
Bomin dé lè fon do nou wa wè
Yénan don nou towé gblé lo
Yéman do nou dé wa wè nin yon
Ashè é Maman, ashè é Maman Afirika, Maman Afirika
Ashè é Maman, ashè é Maman Afirika, Maman Afirika
Nishè o, nishèo, nishèo, nishèo, nishèo
Nishè o, nishèo, nishèo, nishèo, nishèo
Min bi fon do africa gblé lo
Min wè na fon bo mon dèkpè ton
Min déssou sin alo min wè dé
Mindé ma nan lin dagbé min ton
Yé fon bo do yanyan ton do wè
Africa min bi sé ton wè
Min nou min gbè yanyan ton dido
Ashè é Maman, ashè é Maman Afirika
Maman Afirika
Ashè é Maman, ashè é Maman Afirika
Maman Afirika
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TRANSLATION:
Who sees the beauty in you, Maman Afirika?
Don't cross your arms and stand still
We have to work day and night


Source: From https://genius.com/Angelique-kidjo-afirika-lyrics

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LYRICS: AFRIKA ("MAMA AFRIKA") [English language translation from Fon language and Yoruba language]
From 5050elvis, 2020 comment in the discussion thread for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3pTaEsWs3c
"My English is not perfect, but I try to translate the lyrics from my language Fon in English:

Each day we’re saying that Africa is ugly (or is lost), but who will wake up to see its beauty? This is in our own hands, nobody will think about our happiness. Each day they’re saying evil about Africa. Africa is for everybody, let’s stop saying evil about Africa.

Chorus
« Eshe mama Africa » means Blessings to mother Africa.

Some people are sitting and others are working. The first ones will destroy your works, but they are not doing anything. Each day they’re saying evil about Africa. Africa is for everybody, let’s stop saying evil about Africa.

Chorus"
-snip-
I reformatted this comment to add a space between the commenter's words and the song's transcription.

The Yoruba word "eshe" is usually given in English as "ase" ("ashe") [pronounced ah-shay in the United States if not elsewhere].

Here's an English language explanation about "ashe" from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orisha
"Ashe
Ashe is the life-force that runs through all things, living and inanimate. It is described as the power to make things happen. It is an affirmation that is used in greetings and prayers, as well as a concept of spiritual growth. Orìṣà devotees strive to obtain Ashe through iwa-pele, gentle and good character, and in turn they experience alignment with the ori, what others might call inner peace and satisfaction with life. Ashe is divine energy that comes from Olodumare, the creator deity, and is manifested through Olorun, who rules the heavens and is associated with the sun. Without the sun, no life could exist, just as life cannot exist without some degree of ashe. Ashe is sometimes associated with Eshu, the messenger òrìṣà.[6] For practitioners, ashe represents a link to the eternal presence of the supreme deity, the orishas, and the ancestors.[7]

The concept is regularly referenced in Brazilian capoeira. Axé in this context is used as a greeting or farewell, in songs and as a form of praise. Saying that someone "has axé" in capoeira is complimenting their energy, fighting spirit, and attitude.[1]"

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Here's a comment from that same discussion thread in response to the question "What language is Angelique Kidjo singing in?"
Housna YAYA, 2020
""it is a mix of yorouba and fongbe (both are speak in Benin)"

Here's an alternate translation for the word "ashe" which is sometimes written as "eshe")

From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThdXkwu42aw Alicia Keys and Angelique Kidjo perform "Afrika" at Mandela Day 2009 from Radio City Music Hall, MandeladayJul 30, 2009
1. Spongyb, 2011
"EShe Mama Afrika (Yoruba language). Thank you Mother Africa"

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2. adeoflagos Ade, 2019
" "Ese Mama Africa" translates "Thanks Mother Africa". The first two words are Yoruba words (Ese: thanks; Mama: mother). Yoruba is spoken mainly in south-west Nigeria, and across parts of Benin Republic (where Angela Kidjo come from), as well as in diaspora communities in Brazil, Cuba, and others. I believe without Europe incursion into Africa, there would have been a huge empire today called Dahomey. This empire cuts across a huge part of west Africa in ancient past.
-snip-
I think that translating "ase" ("ese) as "thanks" is a simplistic interpretation of that word.

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INFORMATION ABOUT FON (LANGUAGE)
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fon_language
"Fon (fɔ̀ngbè, pronounced [fɔ̃̀ɡ͡bē][3]) is part of the Eastern Gbe language cluster and belongs to the Volta–Niger branch of the Niger–Congo languages. Fon is spoken mainly in Benin by approximately 1.7 million speakers, by the Fon people. Like the other Gbe languages, Fon is an analytic language with an SVO basic word order.

[...]

To date, there are about 53 different dialects of the Fon language spoken throughout Benin.

[...]

French used to be the only language of education in Benin, but in the second decade of the twenty first century, the government is experimenting with teaching some subjects in Benin schools in the country's local languages, among them Fon.[1][9][10][11]"...

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INFORMATION ABOUT YORUBA (LANGUAGE)
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_language
"Yoruba (English: /ˈjɒrʊbə/;[3] Yor. Èdè Yorùbá) is a language spoken in West Africa. The number of speakers of Yoruba is estimated between 30 and 40 million, primarily by the ethnic Yoruba people.[4][5][6] It is a pluricentric language spoken principally in Nigeria and Benin, with communities in Sierra Leone, Liberia, other parts of Africa, the Americas, and Europe. The non-vernacular remains of the language in the Caribbean, Lucumi, is the liturgical language of the Santería religion of the region. Many Yoruba words are used in the Afro-Brazilian religion known as Candomblé. Yoruba language remants are also used in many other Afro-American religions in the Americas and the Caribbean....

In present-day Nigeria, it is estimated that there are over 40 million Yoruba primary and secondary language speakers as well as several other millions of speakers outside Nigeria, making it the most widely spoken African language outside of the continent."...

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This concludes Part I of this pancocojams series.

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