Wyclef Jean

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Wyclef Jean
Image:WyclefJean.jpg Wyclef Jean performing at a UNAIDS concert
Background information
Birth name	Nelust Wyclef Jean
Also known as	Wyclef
Born	October 17 1972 (age 35) Image:Flag of Haiti.svg Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti
Origin	Image:Flag of USA.svg South Orange, New Jersey, United States
Genre(s)	Hip hop Reggae Folk
Instrument(s)	Vocals Guitar
Years active	1987–present
Label(s)	Ruffhouse Columbia J Koch
Associated acts	The Fugees
Website	wyclef.com

Nelust Wyclef Jean (IPA pronunciation: [ˈʍaɪ.klɛf dʒɑn]) (born October 17, 1972) is a Grammy Award-winning and Golden Globe-nominated Haitian-born American rapper, reggae artist, producer, and member of the superstar hip hop trio The Fugees, known as one of the most influential groups of the 1990s for their album The Score.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Musical career 3 Collaborative Work 3.1 With Shakira 4 Humanitarian Work 5 Television and film appearances 6 Discography 7 Trivia 8 Footnotes 9 External links

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. At the age of 14, Wyclef was shot.^[1]

In his early life, he worked as a cabdriver.^[2] In 1987, Jean, his friend (so close they told people they were cousins growing up) Prakazrel Michel and his classmate, Lauryn Hill, formed a group called the Tranzlator Crew before becoming The Fugees.

Musical career

The Fugees signed to Ruffhouse Records and released their debut, Blunted on Reality, but the album 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 Melky Sedeck, the I Threes (back-up vocals for Bob Marley), The 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).

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, released in 2000 was The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book. This was recorded with guests including 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. He was however nominated for Best hip-hop act at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards.^[3]

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,^[4] 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".

Collaborative Work

Jean has gone on to work with artists including Celia Cruz, Queen, Sarah Connor, Carlos Santana, 2face Idibia, 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, Ying Yang Twins, Canibus, The Black Eyed Peas, Eric Benét, Subliminal, Pitbull, Timbaland and Magoo, Tarkan, Shakira, Jin and Rammstien.

With Shakira

Jean collaborated with Shakira on her smash single "Hips Don't Lie," and also on Wyclef's not-yet-released song, "L.O.V.E.." "Hips Don't Lie" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals. Since the production of that single, Shakira and Wyclef have become close friends.

L.O.V.E. contains a sample of Shakira's previously released song "Un Poco de Amor". The song will contain a reggaeton beat similar 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. The album will follow in late June.^{[citation needed]}

Humanitarian Work

Jean has been active in his support of his native country and created his own foundation Yéle Haïti[1] 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

In January 2007, Wyclef Jean became a roving ambassador for Haiti, to help improve its image abroad.^[5]

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.^[6] 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.
• His cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" is played over the beginning and ending credits of The Manchurian Candidate (2004).

Discography

For more information about his singles, albums certifications, and music videos, see Wyclef Jean discography.

• The Carnival (1997)
• The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book (2000)
• Masquerade (2002)
• The Preacher's Son (2003)
• Greatest Hits (2003)
• Welcome to Haiti: Creole 101 (2004)

Trivia

• Considers Bob Dylan, Bob Marley and John Lennon to be his major musical influences.
• 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 five languages: Creole, English, Spanish and even Japanese and Arabic.
• 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 dreadlocks.
• Wyclef owns several cars including a Mclaren F1 and a Pagani Zonda C12s
• Wyclef attended Ol' Dirty Bastard's funeral in 2004.
• Wyclef appeared as the Drum Major in the UCLA Band in the Destiny's Child music video "Bug-a-boo"
• Wyclef also performed the theme song to PBS kids Postcards with Buster
• Wyclef told NPR on February 26 2007 that he is a lawyer.^{[citation needed]}
• At Woodstock 99, Wyclef Jean tried to conjure the spirit of Jimi Hendrix by setting fire to his guitar after playing “The Star Spangled Banner.” Jean burnt his fingers while doing so; fortunately, the fire was extinguished quickly.^[7]

Footnotes

Wikipedia information about Wyclef Jean This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Wyclef Jean". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.