Angélique Kidjo Unveils New “Bando” Video Ahead of Johannesburg Performances
Five-time GRAMMY Award winner Angélique Kidjo has released a new orchestral version of “Bando” featuring Pharrell Williams and Quavo, accompanied by a powerful music video that celebrates community, resilience and hope.
The release arrives just weeks before the global African music icon returns to South Africa for two performances at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz in Johannesburg on 25 and 26 September 2026. The festival will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre.
“Bando [Orchestral] (feat. Pharrell Williams & Quavo)” expands the original track from Kidjo’s acclaimed album HOPE!!, adding the soaring voices of Voices of Fire and the full sound of L’Orchestre du Pont Neuf, led by French composer and conductor Thomas Roussel.
Watch the “Bando” Music Video
The official video brings Kidjo, Pharrell Williams and Quavo together in La Grande Borne, a public-housing development in Grigny, France.
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Paul Hunter, the video captures residents coming together, dancing and celebrating their community. Hunter’s previous music-video credits include work with The Notorious B.I.G., Mariah Carey, D’Angelo and Michael Jackson.
Rather than presenting the neighbourhood only through the challenges associated with poverty and inequality, the visual focuses on its people, energy and sense of community.
For Kidjo, that distinction is important.
The song’s central message is built around resilience and the belief that a person’s circumstances should not determine the limits of their future.
Watch the official “Bando” music video on YouTube
From “Bando” to an Orchestral Anthem
“Bando” takes its name from slang for an abandoned house, but Kidjo uses the concept to explore something much broader.
The song speaks to communities shaped by poverty and inequality while highlighting the creativity, ambition and humanity that exist within them.
The new orchestral arrangement takes that message further.
Produced by Pharrell Williams, the reimagined version combines Kidjo’s distinctive voice with gospel harmonies from Voices of Fire and the expansive sound of a 50-member orchestra. The result transforms the song into a larger collective statement about survival and possibility.
The original “Bando” is also the opening track on HOPE!!, Kidjo’s latest album. Her official biography describes the song as a celebration of the ability to rise beyond one’s circumstances, with Pharrell Williams and Quavo joining her on the track.
Listen to “Bando [Orchestral]”
A Creative Partnership With Pharrell
The new release is another chapter in Kidjo’s long-running creative relationship with Pharrell Williams.
The pair first met in 2007 and later reconnected through Grace For The World, the major concert held in Vatican City’s St Peter’s Square.
Their renewed collaboration eventually led to work at Pharrell’s Paris studio, where the music that would become part of HOPE!! began taking shape.
Pharrell ultimately wrote and produced three songs for the album, with “Bando” becoming one of its defining collaborations.
The orchestral version of the song also made its debut earlier this summer as part of the finale of Louis Vuitton’s Spring-Summer 2027 Men’s Show in Paris, where Pharrell serves as Men’s Creative Director.
HOPE!! Celebrates Resilience and Joy
HOPE!! is Kidjo’s first full-length album following her GRAMMY-winning Mother Nature.
The project brings together an impressive group of collaborators, including Pharrell Williams, Quavo, Ayra Starr, Davido, Nile Rodgers, Charlie Wilson, IZA and PJ Morton.
The album is dedicated to Kidjo’s late mother, Yvonne, and explores themes of grief, love, resilience, joy and the sustaining power of hope.
Kidjo’s official website describes HOPE!! as a project centred on joy and connection, with “Bando” serving as its opening statement.
Stream or order Angélique Kidjo’s HOPE!! album
A Landmark Year for Kidjo
The release comes during a remarkable period in Kidjo’s career.
In August, she became the first African musician and first Black African to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The ceremony took place on 18 August, with actor Willem Dafoe and Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. joining her for the occasion. Hollywood also declared the date “Angélique Kidjo Day.”
She subsequently returned to New York to headline SummerStage in Central Park.
Now, attention turns to Johannesburg.
Kidjo Heads to Johannesburg
South African audiences will have the opportunity to experience Kidjo’s extraordinary catalogue live when she performs at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz on 25 and 26 September.
The 2026 festival marks the 27th edition of the event and will bring international jazz artists and leading South African musicians together at the Sandton Convention Centre.
The festival’s official information confirms that the event runs across two days, with performances beginning in the evening on both Friday and Saturday.
View the official Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival information
For Johannesburg audiences, Kidjo’s arrival offers more than another major international performance.
It is an opportunity to witness an artist whose career has consistently connected African musical traditions with global sounds, while using music to tell stories about identity, resilience, community and possibility.
With the new “Bando [Orchestral]” now available and her Johannesburg performances approaching, Angélique Kidjo’s message remains as powerful as ever:
Hope can come from anywhere — and music can help carry it across borders.
