Born January 1, 1953 in Dimbokro), Alpha Blondy is an Ivorian reggae singer and international recording artist. Many of his songs are politically and socially motivated, and are mainly sung in his native language Dyula, French and English, though he occasionally uses other languages, for example, Arabic, Hebrew, or Jamaican Patois. The first son of a family of eight children, he was raised by his grandmother in an environment described by him as "among elders", which was to have a big impact on his career.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Blondy
In 1974, Seydou moved to New York where he majored in English at Hunter College and the Columbia University American Language Program, pursuing a career in teaching. In New York, he was introduced to Rastafari and attended concerts by Jamaican artists including Burning Spear. Seydou was involved in multiple altercations before returning to the Ivory Coast where he encountered further trouble until he reunited with his childhood friend, Fulgence Kassi, who had become a noted television producer. This was the beginning of his career as a musician, and he adopted the alias "Alpha Blondy"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Blondy
