It’s a song we’ve heard hundreds of times on the radio. In 1987, reggaeman Alpha Blondy released Sweet Fanta Diallo, song written for a woman, Fanta. Not just anyone in her eyes.
“It’s an acknowledgment of a high school sweetheart. I had the opportunity to meet a sublime girl, who loved me, not because I had money or because I was brilliant in school. She often did my math homework for me. (. . ..) I was lucky to have the right to this love, that’s why I sang it”, explains Alpha Blondy.
“She took his savings”
If Fanta told so much it is because it opened doors for the Ivorian singer. She convinced her parents to let him go to the United States, to live his life as an artist.
“My adoptive father, his salary did not allow him to pay for a trip back to the United States. Fanta was the catalyst. My mom was a seamstress, and she sold in the market, she took her savings and paid me a one-way ticket.”
So, this love, decides to record it forever in microgroove. If inspiration helps, she’ll even revisit the usual orchestration of a reggae song.
“One of the musicians, Partick Artero, said to me ‘don’t you want us to try putting violins, cellos?’ To my great surprise, the EMI label also liked his career.
“It was on MTV”
The song would go on to become a worldwide multi-streamed hit, still being talked about today.
“Everywhere it was, even in the United States, it was on MTV. So, somewhere, I can say thank God. There are weddings that have taken place, thanks to Fanta Diallo, there is even a man who has met his wife during the promotion of Fanta Diallo, they got married, they had twins, one is called Alpha, the other Blondy! “.
Now, Fanta has left us, but Alpha Blondy’s love for her is still very present at concerts.
Source: BFM TV
