Four-time Grammy Award-winning superstar Angélique Kidjo joins forces with Nigerian singer Yemi Alade for a powerful new track “Dignity.” The spirited anthem was inspired by the youth-led movement to disband the Special Anti-Robbery Squad and is accompanied by a poignant music video starring Kidjo and Alade. “Dignity” is out now on Verve/UMG France. You can check it out below.
This new single brings a renewed energy and edge to Angélique Kidjo, who for thirty years has been a creative force, blending genres, generations and cultures together, always with a profound message. Produced by Vtek Da Awesome, “Dignity” is an undeniable punch in the air, reclaiming power, humanity, and—of course—dignity.
Kidjo joined forces with Afropop singer Yemi Alade for this glorious anthem, which was inspired by the youth-led movement to disband the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, aka SARS, an infamously corrupt unit in the Nigerian Police Force.
In bringing the brightly urgent song to life, Alade worked off a demo of Kidjo’s and added her first-hand perspective as an activist directly involved with the anti-SARS effort. With its lush textures and kinetic rhythms, the result is a galvanizing track expanding on the musical kinship the two artists forged back in 2019, when Kidjo appeared on a song called “Shekere” from Alade’s acclaimed album Woman of Steel.
“Many people think that police brutality only happens in America, but it’s everywhere,” Kidjo points out. “This song is against brutality, but it’s also about how we need to treat each other with dignity, treat nature with dignity, and treat ourselves with dignity. Because if we can’t see the dignity that Mother Nature gave to all of us, then how can we walk tall?”
In the spellbinding video for “Dignity,” the song’s message of spirited perseverance is portrayed in the story of a migrant longing for his homeland and struggling to survive in a climate of profound injustice.
Partly filmed in a bleak industrial landscape, the video follows the migrant as he finds self-salvation through dancing—an element perfectly captured in free-flowing yet exquisitely poignant choreography. Meanwhile, Kidjo and Alade instantly brighten the visual with their self-possessed presence, each delivering an impassioned performance that intensifies the track’s uplifting power.
