Role Models & Lifestyle: Alpha Blondy
"The land of Africa has nourished me, it made me grow," says Alpha Blondy. "Africa has opened the door to the world for me."
1. If I was on your doorstep right now, where would you take me?
To the Cafe de Versailles, and then we go to the beach. These are the two places where you would find me most of the time. The ocean ...
2. What cd/music and book would you bring along?
I tend to listen to music with not much depth! I listen to hard rock like Guns' n Roses. I listen to the French pianist Richard Clayderman. I prefer instrumental music. Reggae of course: Alpha Blondy. And also Rock & Roll and French music like Florent Pagny and George Moustaki. Music that has little to do with what I do.
3. Who else would you bring along?
Surely we’ll be among friends. We will order food. If you like to drink port, there’ll be port. If you want champagne, there will be champagne. With the sun and the sea, you have to keep cool.
4. Who do you call all the time? At least 2 to 3 times a day.
My wife. Not with a cell phone. But on the hotel phone, it's cheaper. I never use the Internet. It is my secretary who knows how to use it. I don’t. My kids are very good at it. I’m not. It is too complicated.
5. Who or what makes you laugh the most?
All comedians, especially in France, since we speak the language. Franc Dubosc and Jamel Debbouze. The comedian Dieudonne makes me laugh a lot, even if sometimes he is a bit harsh, I like his humour. There was Eli Kakou who unfortunately left us. There is also Les Inconnus, a definite cracker.
6. When was the last time you cried and why?
Yesterday. When I saw the story of that 78-year-old Frenchman killed in Mauritania by Al Qaeda terrorists. It made me cry. Because an old man like that who came to Niger to build schools and then gets executed ... I think that’s ugly! I also watched a sad movie which made me cry.
7. What made you decide to do what you do?
In my country, we say that the fate of a man belongs to God. It's God who has guided my steps towards music. He could have made me a carpenter, but he wanted me to make music. It’s my destiny. I do believe that no one can escape his/her destiny planned by God.
8. Being a role model yourself, who is your role model?
My grandmother. She taught me everything that today allows me to understand and move forward in life. It was she who instilled in me my faith in God. But above all, for me one of the most important values in life she taught me is the respect for others.
Women have played an important role in my life: my grandmother, my mother and my mother’s older sister. It is God’s will that I like girls. I have seven daughters. I am surrounded by women.
9. What was your first association with the Netherlands?
My first concert in 1987 when we played in an old church, the Paradiso. We went into a cafe to smoke. At the time I smoked, I don’t anymore. The scene was a surprise to me. It was also a way for me to discover my Dutch public.
10. I am proud of being an African because...
I was born on the African continent. The land of Africa has given me food, the land of Africa has nourished me, it made me grow. This is where I went to school, where I learned French and all the languages that I speak. Africa has given me many friends. Africa is where all the people I love are buried. It is where I'll be buried one day, God willing. Africa has opened the door to the world for me.
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