Wyclef Jean

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Wyclef Jean
Background information
Birth name Nelust Wyclef Jean
Born October 17, 1972
Haitian flag Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti
Origin U.S. flag South Orange, New Jersey, United States
Genre(s) Hip hop, Reggae
Years active 1987–present
Label(s) Ruffhouse
Associated
acts		 The Fugees
Website wyclef.com

Nelust Wyclef Jean (IPA pronunciation: [ˈʍaɪ.klɛf dʒɑn]) (born October 17, 1972) is an American rapper, reggae artist, producer, and member of the superstar hip hop trio The Fugees, known now for a series of high-profile hit singles in the 1990s.

Contents

[edit] Early Life

Jean was born in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti. He moved to Brooklyn, New York when he was nine, then to Northern New Jersey, where he began playing the guitar and studying jazz in his mostly-black high school. In his early life, he worked as a cabdriver.[1] In 1987, Jean, his friend (so close they told people they were cousins growing up) Prakazrel Michel (Pras) and his classmate, Lauryn Hill, formed a group called the Tranzlator Crew before becoming The Fugees.

[edit] Musical Career

The Fugees signed to Ruffhouse Records and released their debut, Blunted on Reality, but the album was panned and sold poorly. Their eclectic follow-up, The Score, however, sold over 17 million copies worldwide and turned the trio into international superstars. Jean soon announced plans to begin a solo career with 1997's Wyclef Jean Presents the Carnival Featuring the Refugee All-Stars (more typically called simply The Carnival). The album's guests included Hill and Pras along with Jean's siblings, the I Threes (back-up vocals for Bob Marley), Neville Brothers and Celia Cruz. The album was a major hit, as were two singles: "We Trying to Stay Alive" (adapted from The Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive") and "Gone Til November" (recorded with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra).

Album cover of 2000's The Ecleftic
Enlarge
Album cover of 2000's The Ecleftic

The Fugees remained in limbo during this time, with the follow-up to The Score being continually postponed as all three members cultivated solo careers. Jean's second solo album was The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book, recorded with guests Youssou N'Dour, Earth, Wind & Fire, Kenny Rogers, The Rock and Mary J. Blige, the latter with whom he released the song 911 as a single. The critical reception was mixed, with many calling the album scattershot and too far-ranging to be cohesive.

Jean's third album, Masquerade, was released in 2002 and sold well, though critics frequently panned it. His fourth album was The Preacher's Son, an album that Wyclef considered a continuation of his first album, Carnival.

In 2004, he released his fifth album, entitled Sak Pasé Presents: Welcome to Haïti (Creole 101) (released in the United States by Koch Records). A freewheeling album that is something of a return to his Caribbean roots, most of the songs on the album are in his native language of Haitian Creole. He also covered Creedence Clearwater Revival's song "Fortunate Son" for the soundtrack of The Manchurian Candidate.

Jean also produced and wrote original songs for the original soundtrack to Jonathan Demme's 2003 Documentary "The Agronomist", a film about the legendary Jean Dominique, an active man of the people of Wyclef's homeland, Haïti.

In the same fashion, Jean crafted the music for the documentary Ghosts Of Cité Soleil [2], in which he found himself on the phone with a young and notorious gang leader in Haïti wishing to leave the life of violence and follow Jean's footsteps and pursue a career in rap.

In 2005, Jean earned a Golden Globe nomination for his track entitled "Million Voices" featured on the soundtrack to the film Hotel Rwanda.

Jean is slated to produce a track on an upcoming album by Whitney Houston and is also said to be collaborating with her on his upcoming album, "Second Wind".

[edit] Collaborative Work

Jean has gone on to work with artists including Celia Cruz, Queen, Sarah Connor, Santana, Tevin Campbell, Tom Jones, Cypress Hill, Bounty Killer, Whitney Houston, Destiny's Child, Sublime, Simply Red, Mya, Sinéad O'Connor, Missy Elliott, Bono, The Edge, Kimberly Scott, Mick Jagger, The Ying Yang Twins, Canibus, The Black Eyed Peas, Eric Benét, Subliminal (on his recent song "In Tel Aviv"), Turkish star Tarkan (on his recent song "Why Don't We - Aman Aman") and Shakira (on her smash single "Hips Don't Lie") and also on Wyclef's not yet released song "L.O.V.E.."

L.O.V.E. contains a sample of Shakira's previously released song "Un Poco de Amor". The song will contain a reggaeton beat similiar to the one used in their previous hit, "Hips Don't Lie". The song will be featured on Wyclef's next studio album, The Second Wind, which will be released in the Summer of 2007. The first single from the album will be the duet featuring Shakira, and, based on leaked record company memos, the tentative release date is April 24, 2007.

In 2003, Jean produced rapper Jin's first single "Learn Chinese".

[edit] Humanitarian Work

Jean has been active in his support of his native country and created his own foundation Yéle Haïti[3] to provide humanitarian aid and assistance to Haïti, which is currently the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Yéle is a non-political organization intended to empower the people of Haïti and the Haïtian diaspora to rebuild their nation.

"The objective of Yéle Haïti is to restore pride and a reason to hope, and for the whole country to regain the deep spirit and strength that is part of our heritage." -Wyclef Jean

[edit] Television and film appearances

  • Performed "President" on the second season of Chappelle's Show. This unreleased acoustic song is a social commentary against war spending, media bias against voices of dissent and asks America to "tell the children the truth" about Christopher Columbus, Marcus Garvey, John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. However, the album version of this song didn't include the truth mentioned previously. Its chorus goes: "If I was president, I'd get elected on Friday, assassinated on Saturday, and buried on Sunday."
  • Appeared for a second time on Chappelle's Show in a parody of Making the Band.
  • Appeared on the fourth season of The Apprentice in 2005. Did a rap, "Rubble man", with the winning team, Excel, as their reward for winning task five.
  • Also in 2005, he played a gang leader who leads his group on an assault on the station house in Third Watch.
  • In 2004 Wyclef, Pras and Lauryn Hill reunited as The Fugees for an event that was filmed and released in 2006 as Dave Chappelle's Block Party.
  • He also starred in popular and entertaining Virgin Mobile commercials as himself. In one commercial, a woman approaches him and tricks him into signing a contract which legally binds them in marriage. She drags him back to her trailer-park home where he is mistreated, forced to work and pleasure his wife. Eventually, he runs away and seeks police assistance, but is instead arrested for violating his contract and ultimately winds up in jail.
  • Appeared in 2002 Jamaican gangster film Shottas, which was not officially released until 2006.
  • In 2005, Wyclef also made an appearance in the movie Dirty, alongside Cuba Gooding Jr, where he played the role of a Jamaican drug dealer.
  • Wyclef narrated the movie Full Clip, starring Busta Rhymes, Xzibit, "Prodigy" of Mobb Deep, Spliff Star, and many more.
  • Created music for, and appeared in, the 2006 documentary Ghosts of Cité Soleil.

[edit] Discography and Collaborations

Solo discography

Released singles

[edit] Trivia

  • Has an estranged brother named Ross. He works as a janitor at Yeshiva University. There was an incident in the mid-90s when Wyclef needed to come to the University to speak with his brother and greeted the students who recognized him.
  • Dated former Fugees bandmate and Grammy Award winner Lauryn Hill
  • Wyclef plays five instruments including guitar and the accordion.
  • Wyclef raps in four languages: Creole, English, Spanish and even Japanese.
  • Wyclef operates a Dancehall Reggae Soundsystem called 'Refugees', and has recorded dubplates with artists like Kenny Rogers and Santana.
  • Wyclef owns and runs a NYC recording studio, Platinum Sounds.
  • Wyclef is one of several rappers in 2006 to cut off his braids.
  • Wyclef owns several cars including a Mclaren F1 and a Pagani Zonda C12s

[edit] External links

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