Singer Angelique Kidjo urges Africans to 'create together' - EWN

Five-time Grammy Award winner and newly cemented Hollywood Walk of Fame honouree Angelique Kidjo called Tuesday for Africans to set aside their differences and "create together".

Speaking at a Spotify gathering in Johannesburg, 66-year-old Kidjo wore a red headwrap, glasses and a printed blazer as she lauded the power and potential of Africa's youth.

"We are the only continent where we are fighting with each other and within ourselves," said the Beninese singer and activist who was in the city for a jazz festival.

"The youth today is hungry for new things," she said. "We need to come together and set aside our differences and create together, tell our story together."

Kidjo urged Africans to take ownership of how the continent is represented.

"We have so much culture in Africa. It's frightening. It's scary. It is so big that even we are overwhelmed, but we have to be strategic. We have to be focused," she said.

The "Agoro" and "Afirika" hitmaker -- whose career spans more than four decades, 18 albums and countless international collaborations -- became the first Black African to receive the Hollywood star in August.