Editing Alpha Blondy (section)

==Early years==

===Childhood===
The first son of a family of eight children, Seydou Koné was raised by his grandmother in an environment described by him as "among elders", which was to have a big impact on his career. 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. He formed a band in high school, but this affected his schooling and he was expelled for poor attendance. His parents sent him to study English in [[Monrovia]], the capital city of [[Liberia]], in 1973. He spent thirteen months there and then moved to the United States to improve his English.<ref>Interview with ''Montreal Mirror'', September 2003.</ref>

===College in the United States===
In 1974, Seydou moved to [[New York City|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 [[Jamaica]]n 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".<ref name="Alpha Blondy Music">{{cite web |title=Alpha Blondy Music |url=http://www.alphablondy.info/article.php?=58 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929182637/http://www.alphablondy.info/article.php?=58 |archive-date=September 29, 2007 |access-date=27 March 2005 |publisher=Alphablondy.info |df=mdy-all}}</ref>