There was a time when Nel Ust Wyclef Jean was among the greatest hip-hop artists.
Dating back to his time as a member of The Fugees I
felt that the Haitian born hip-hop superstar had a unique voice not just
among rappers but in the music industry as a whole. He eloquently articulated the
struggle of the immigrant to assimilate into the larger tapestry of his new home,
the pain of the discrimination he felt for both his accent and his skin tone,
and his desire for everyone to come together in love despite their cultural, political
or religious differences. To this day "Carnival Vol. II" is one of my favorite albums. I felt that all Jean needed
to do was maintain the consistency of production, lyricism and musicality he already
had at that point for a long and prosperous career as a rapper with street cred who
also had pop culture appeal for the masses.
Since that time Jean has made many mistakes both musically and personally. While one
can argue his Jean had only the most noble of intentions when he founded his
Yele Haiti
charity in the early 2000's, and they arguably did some good work in the wake of
Hurricane Jeanne,
they were unable to repeat that success following a devastating 2010 earthquake.
Even though he was able to raise millions of dollars for charitable relief in a short
amount of time, mismanagement of those funds meant that little of it went to those in
need on the ground, and by 2012 the charity folded with a long rap sheet of unpaid debts
and dashed hopes for one of the poorest nations on Earth. Investigations into the
tax records cast Jean in a poor light as he directly benefitted from the mismanagement.
In addition he attempted to run for President of Haiti during the middle of said same scandal,
only to be told he was disqualified by not being a Haitian resident for the required
length of time. It was all in all not a good look.
As my opinion of Jean's integrity soured personally, his musical output declined
precipitously to the point he only released one EP from 2010 until February of this
year. That's not to say Jean wasn't still contributing to songs and projects by other
artists, but it seemed that his own voice had been silenced either by his inability to
solve his image crisis, or from a complete lack of interest in doing anything to
continue the musical legacy he had built up to an epic height in the 2000's. It's
amazing to think that a three time Grammy Award winning rap artist (whether you
give those awards much credit or not) would simply throw it all away amidst a public
scandal and a failed Presidential bid, but that's exactly what he seemed to have done.
He wrote an autobiography, he dabbled here and there, but he was remarkbly quiet until
he popped up as a complete surprise on a Young Thug mixtape in 2016.
So what do we make of Wyclef Jean in 2017, finally releasing a new full length album
after so many years, giving us a previously unexpected sequel to a hip-hop classic almost
a full decade later? Well there's some good news here. Despite an unforgivably long
absence from the musical scene, Jean's musical sensibilities are still sharp. The Supah
Mario produced "Fela Kuti" is an excellent introductory single for "Carnival 3."
Jean effortlessly floats back and forth between singing and rapping, the upbeat horns
suggest a celebratory atmosphere, while his invocation of the name of a legendary
Nigerian musician and political activist suggests the African diaspora that Jean
has always connected himself to artistically. Jean's a Hatian by birth and an American
by immigration but he can be viewed as a "world music" artist as much or more than
any one distinct place he has lived.
Thematically the album keeps that vibe through a rugged independence that eschews
bringing in the biggest current names in hip-hop or pop. There are no tracks produced
by DJ Mustard, Mike Will Made It or Jake One here. Many tracks are self produced or
produced in collaboration with Wavie Boi, and there's a notable lack of big cameos. One
of the best is actor/comedian D.L. Hughley on one of the most hip-hop songs of the album -
the aptly named "Double Dutch."
And despite his trials and tribulations over the last 10 years, there's still an
ebuillient upbeat sense of joy on "What Happened to Love?" with the other "big" cameo
of the album - some singing courtesy of LunchMoney Lewis. It's almost impossible to
not smile listening to this track courtesy of The Knocks. It's unapologetically meant
to make you want to dance and if it doesn't end up a single that I hear on the radio
before the end of the year, somebody is doing something seriously wrong.
Jean's struggles may have also brought him back to his roots, as songs like "Slums"
and "Thank God for the Culture" suggest that Jean wants to reconnect to the hip-hop
audience that first propelled him to fame. The latter has him dropping references to
deceased artists like Biggie and Big L that will undoubtedly be appreciated by those
who want the old Jean back, but you might also be suspicious that Jean is pandering
in an attempt to win back those his misdeeds have made view him with mistrust. It's
possible that Jean is so motivated but I have a hard time finding any cynicism in tracks
like the softly sung "Borrowed Time" or the booming bass of "Concrete Rose," the latter
exhorting you to wave rags in the air like Petey Pablo used to. I'm not saying there
aren't some things that Jean needs to apologize for or make good on, but "Carnival 3"
at least shows us that when Wyclef Jean puts the distractions aside and gets back
to making music, he's still pretty damn good at doing it.
Music Vibes: 8 of 10
Lyric Vibes: 7 of 10TOTAL Vibes: 7.5 of 10
![[Carnival III: The Fall and Rise of a Refugee]](../coverart/wyclef-Carnival3.jpg)
There was a time when Nel Ust Wyclef Jean was among the greatest hip-hop artists.
Dating back to his time as a member of The Fugees I
felt that the Haitian born hip-hop superstar had a unique voice not just
among rappers but in the music industry as a whole. He eloquently articulated the
struggle of the immigrant to assimilate into the larger tapestry of his new home,
the pain of the discrimination he felt for both his accent and his skin tone,
and his desire for everyone to come together in love despite their cultural, political
or religious differences. To this day "Carnival Vol. II" is one of my favorite albums. I felt that all Jean needed
to do was maintain the consistency of production, lyricism and musicality he already
had at that point for a long and prosperous career as a rapper with street cred who
also had pop culture appeal for the masses.