Outside of class, he would play music in Central Park and in Harlem clubs where occasionally house bands would let him sing his Bob Marley covers in French, English, and various West African languages. He studied English at Hunter College in New York, and later in the Columbia Univeristy American Language Program. Though he wanted to become a musician, his family expected him to become a respectable English teacher. Later Bob Marley's music tremendously affected Blondy. He was always a rebellious child and for this, Coco named him "Blondy," her unique pronunciation of the word "bandit." When he started performing professionally, he took on the name Alpha (the first letter in the Greek alphabet) so his name literally translates to "first bandit." Though he grew up listenting to African folkloric music such as yagba and gumbe, his primary musical influences were such Western bands as Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Hendrix, the Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and soul artists like Otis Redding. He was born a member of the Jula tribe in Dimbokoro and named Seydou Kone after his grandfather.
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