Ivorian Reggae Legend, Alpha Blondy sings in French, English, Arabic, Spanish, Hebrew and Dyula (his mother tongue) to spread socially-motivated messages of unity.
Seydou Koné, better known by his stage name Alpha Blondy, is an Ivorian reggae singer and international recording artist.
Hailing from the Côte d’Ivoire, Alpha Blondy was born Seydou Kone in 1953. He grew up in part of the Jula tribe in Dimbokro and spent his youth moving toward what seemed like a promising career in academia, studying English at Hunter College in New York, and later in the Columbia University American Language Program.
Alpha Blondy was born to a Muslim father and a Christian mother, and was brought up by a grandmother “who taught him to love everyone”. Blondy’s respect for all religions and the spirituality he derives from them can be heard on the tracks “God is One” or “Jerusalem” where he sang for unity among all religions in 1986.
He is currently married to Aelyssa Darragi since 2019 with three children namely Soukeïna Kone, Aminata Koné, Ismaël Koné.
He sang the famous song that was used for the “Salam Alaikum, Wa Alaikum Al Salam” memes.
