A quick shoutout to my cousin Reena who put me on to the Fugees when I was in the 5th grade. Ever since then I’ve been a huge fan of all three of them, including Wyclef (a refugee from Haiti, if you didn’t know). This album is a followup to his 1997 Carnival album and his first since 2003’s Preacher Son.
As expected, Wyclef displays his versatility and deep network on the CD, creating purposeful music over fusion beats. The first track, Riot, sums it up well: he’s the hip hop, rock ‘n’ roll and reggae voice.
Currently the CD boasts the single “Sweetest Girl (Dolla Bill)” featuring Akon, Lil Wayne and Niia. While Akon was nice singing an okay hook, Clef really shines when he teams up with Shakira again on “King and Queen” where she sings:
If you have no home, I’ll be your shelter
Baby don’t be scared
If you lost your sight, I would be your eyes
Lead you in the spotlight
If you’ve enough time, I will be one time
Only to be with you tonight
But ever is never, never enough time
To make it forever mine
It’s one of a number of beautiful choruses by the cameo’s on his CD. Another great repeat is “What About the Baby”, where Wyclef and Mary J. Blige collaborate for a sweet and soulful ballad. I really like this song but in the same breath will say they should probably play it after tapings of Maury Povich.
I was particularly excited to hear the Bhangra laced track “Hollywood Meets Bollywood” and was not disappointed by the beat. Wyclef’s lyrics are pretty strange (not surprised) so it didn’t work as well as I had hoped but I can’t hate on a song when he shouts “You wanna hear me speak Punjabi?!” The track is definitely worth hearing and give it credit for its uniqueness.
Overall, Wyclef fans will not be disappointed and I think most listeners will be able to appreciate the story telling and selection of instruments used in the production of each track. I like to say the fusion/randomness that Vikas and I create at parties is a circus and this is nothing short of a Carnival.
Favorite songs: “Slow Down” – Featuring T.I., “King and Queen” – Featuring Shakira, “Selena” – featuring Mellisa Jiminez.
This entry was posted on January 5, 2008 at 6:04 pm and is filed under Hip Hop with tags Fugees, Immigrant, Wyclef, Wyclef Jean. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed
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