In the mid-1980s, a singer from Côte d’Ivoire walked into Bob Marley’s studio in Kingston, Jamaica, and recorded with Marley’s own band. The album was Jérusalem, and the singer was Alpha Blondy.
Blondy became Africa’s best-known reggae star, singing about politics, religion and unity in several languages.
From Dimbokro to New York
Alpha Blondy grew up in Côte d’Ivoire. As a young man, he studied in the United States, where he encountered reggae and the music of Bob Marley and Burning Spear. The music of Jamaica, with its message of resistance and faith, shaped his life.
Back in Abidjan
Returning to Côte d’Ivoire, Blondy began performing and recording. His early songs, sung in Dioula, French and English, became hits in West Africa. His voice and style drew clear inspiration from Marley but with an Ivorian perspective.
Apartheid Is Nazism
In 1985, Blondy released Apartheid Is Nazism. The title song was a direct call for the end of apartheid in South Africa. The album spread his reputation across Africa and Europe.
Jérusalem
In 1986, Blondy released Jérusalem, recorded in Jamaica at Tuff Gong Studios with the Wailers, Bob Marley’s former band, backing him. Marley had died in 1981, and working with his musicians was a mark of respect and recognition.
Blondy sang the title song in Arabic, English, French and Hebrew, calling for peace and unity among the faiths connected to the city of Jerusalem. The album sold more than 300,000 copies in France.
A message of unity
Blondy, raised in a Muslim family, often sings about the common ground between Islam, Christianity and Judaism. He has called for tolerance and peace in Côte d’Ivoire, especially during the country’s periods of conflict.
Politics at home
During Côte d’Ivoire’s political crises and civil war, Blondy spoke out for reconciliation. His songs criticised politicians who used ethnicity and religion to divide people.
A long career
Blondy has released many albums and toured widely. He has been named a UN messenger of peace for Côte d’Ivoire and remains one of the most recognised African reggae musicians.
African reggae
Blondy helped show that reggae belonged to Africa as much as to Jamaica. Artists across Africa, from Lucky Dube in South Africa to Tiken Jah Fakoly in Côte d’Ivoire, followed a similar path, singing about their own countries’ struggles.
The Wailers’ approval
Musicians who had played with Marley agreed to back a young Ivorian in their late leader’s studio. For Blondy’s fans, that session remains proof that African reggae belonged in the same room as its Jamaican source.
