Seydou Koné (French pronunciation: [sedu kɔne]; born January 1, 1953, in Dimbokro[1]), better known by his stage name Alpha Blondy, is an Ivorian reggae singer and international recording artist.

In 1962, Alpha Blondy joined his father in Odienné, where he spent ten years, attended Sainte Elisabeth High School, and was involved in the Ivory Coast students movement.

[2] 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.

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 album was to have enormous success and would become later a symbol of resistance because of the song "Brigadier Sabari," which documents his experience of being arrested in Abidjan in the 1980s and his subsequent mistreatment by the police.

[4] Alpha Blondy became a big star in Abidjan with his African twist of Reggae music, becoming in the eyes of his fans "the Bob Marley of Africa".

The album also included "Jah Houphouët parle", a long speech by Ivory Coast president Félix Houphouët-Boigny with only the most minimal beat behind it.

This was not to be a real success but it did not deter Blondy and in 1991 he returned to Europe for a concert tour and to record his famous album Masada with the help of musical legends such as Bocana Maiga and UK reggae producer Dennis Bovell.

Blondy's psychiatric treatment continued but on 10 December 1994, he was back with the festival in memory of President Houphouet, and later he made his European comeback at a storming concert at Le Zenith in Paris.

In 1996, Blondy released a hits compilation and went back into the studio to record the album Grand Bassam Zion, singing in six languages: Malinke; Arabic; French; English; Ashanti and Wolof.

[3] Alpha Blondy celebrated 20 years as a recording artist with the 2002 release of CD MERCI, featuring Ophelie Winter and Saian Supa Crew, which earned him a 2003 Grammy Award nomination for "Best Reggae Album".

Released in January 2015, the Roots Reggae Library featured an edition on Alpha Blondy with interpretations and translations of songs in all languages, including those in Dioula.

[8] In February 2023, Blondy Performed in front of home crowd at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan for the closing ceremony of the 2023 African Cup of Nations.

The Foundation strives to create and implement grassroots programs at the village level, such as the Women's Self-Sufficiency Micro Loan Program, to teach women who are caring for multiple orphans how to start and manage their own business, to better provide for their families, as well as other sustainable projects, such as the Tafari-Genesis Retreat Camp for Children (Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso).