| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
Former Fugees leader Wyclef Jean is convinced he's about to release the album of his career. The album, which will be his fifth, is a hip-hop themed world album.
This may sound like the unlikeliest of things but Jean claimed he has never been one to keep up with pop trends.
"We went the whole mile with this one," said the Haiti-born rapper, singer and producer at the Sheraton Beach Resort in Langkawi last week. He was there to meet with his Asian record label executives and to showcase tracks from the album Carnival II: Memoirs of An Immigrant, which will be released in October.
It is a sequel to his 1997 solo debut The Carnival, an effort that music website All Music Guide hailed as "one of those rare hip-hop moments that came out of nowhere and rewrote the rules".
Best known these days for his collaboration with Colombian singer Shakira on last year's Grammy nominated hit song Hips Don't Lie, Jean was, however, in full producer mode on the Malaysian island.
"When I came up with The Fugees, I believed we always had an international statement," he said. "But for Carnival II I felt that this music had to be a great representation of the music heard at every corner of the globe."
Crossing musical boundaries is nothing new for the former New York City taxi driver: When the New Jersey-based The Fugees — made up of Jean, singer Lauryn Hill and rapper Pras Michel — rose to fame in the mid-1990s, their music included bits of American soul, Caribbean music and Jamaican reggae.
Judging from a sneak preview, Carnival II is an eclectic affair. Spiced with Bollywood strings and Latin drums laced with a huge dose of Hollywood swagger, the album also employs the talents of R&B queen Mary J Blige, Will.I.Am from the Black Eyed Peas as well as the legendary Paul Simon (see box).
Authenticity, it seems, was of paramount importance to Jean. "I got a proper Bollywood orchestra from India to play live on that track," he said of Immigration, one of the songs on the album that features a guest spot from American rapper Chamillionaire.
"This is serious business so we wanted to do it right and not just work with samples as some previous artists have done," he said.
More importantly, Jean feels a duty to do justice to his take on world music as it's important the country of origin finds his creations authentic, he stressed.
"I never sacrifice culture before pop music just to follow what's hot," he chuckled. "If I do four or five songs in my lifetime that hit the charts, I always think will these songs stand the test of time? That's what the guys who invented hip-hop thought of, focusing on culture and not just diamonds or pearls."
MORE THAN JUST BLING
Even though he turned up for the interview wearing a crystal encrusted T-shirt ("They're not real diamonds," he retorted), Jean said much of hip-hop today is too focused on "bling" — slang for jewellery as well as a lifestyle built around opulence.
"There is too much materialism about in hip-hop today," he said.
Just 10 years ago, music celebrated diversity and socially conscious rap ruled the roost. Artistes like The Fugees, Tupac Shakur and A Tribe Called Quest amassed a fan base because they were the opposite of gangster rap.
"The majority of rappers these days seem happy to go on about women, which jewel I got, which gun I'm going to pull out and the essence of lyrical continuity fades," said Jean, referencing gangster rappers 50 Cent and The Game.
Since it is his opinion that rap music is in dire straits, would he go back to reviving the socially conscious rhymes of The Fugees for one last run?
The trio last got together last year to play a free show for 8,000 fans in Hollywood. However, hopes for a proper reunion were dashed when Pras Michel told a TV station that it wasn't happening because Lauryn Hill had "some issues she needs to deal with".
However, Jean is hopeful the reunion will happen.
"The Fugees are like the hip-hop Beatles, so anything that's so good like that comes with a lot of drama and baggage, you know what I'm saying?," he laughed.
"I hope The Fugees can do another record, I'm giving them four years to get their act together and get it done before I go back to Haiti for good!"
GOING BACK TO HIS ROOTS
He may have moved to New York with his family in 1981, but Haiti holds a special place in Jean's heart.
It's obvious he hasn't forgotten his roots: His 2004 album Welcome to Haiti: Creole 101 was recorded entirely in Haitian Creole. He also founded non-profit organisation Yéle Haïti in 2000 to provide aid and assistance to the country's poorest citizens.
Although he declined to speak at length about his work with Yéle Haïti, Jean was quick to point out that he wasn't on any bandwagon just to get famous.
"We hope to restore pride in the country, so it isn't something as trendy as global warming," he said.
Inevitably, talk switched to the recent Live Earth concerts that were held on July 7 with the aim of raising awareness about the dangers of global warming.
Jean was blunt in his criticism of the event. For one thing, Live Earth was, in his words, "80 per cent commercialised".
"Everyone knows all these concerts came about because Al Gore had a movie last year called An Inconvenient Truth. But if I ask him to come to Haiti and speak on the issue, he isn't doing it for free and will charge me a fee," he scoffed.
"I'm a realist and I don't see how effective the message would be simply by having musicians performing all over the world. We all know about global warming. I don't think Al Gore is saving the world. It looks like he just jumped on an issue because he couldn't become President of the United States."
TODAY/rose
|
