Wyclef Jean on Clefication, The Fugees, Shakira, and More!

Wyclef Jean gives back and looks ahead with his new album

From the LifeMinute Team

April 13, 2015

Multi-Grammy Award-winning recording artist, songwriter and producer Wyclef Jean has come a long way from Croix-des-Bouquets, high school jazz band and working as an extra in music videos. And with over 16 million albums sold, the former Fugee turned international solo artist shows no signs of slowing down with the release of his new album Clefication and a summer tour on the horizon.

"Clefication is just going to be a journey of life, you know," says Jean, "We will definitely hear the electronic influence; we'll hear the hip hop influence; we'll hear the raw acoustic Wyclef performance. And the single is called 'Divine Sorrow.' ... We did it for the (RED) campaign, the AIDS initiative. 100% of the money will go towards the global fund."

Summing up the inspiration behind the record, Jean says, "Whatever you're going through [that] you feel like is really bad, say 'Thank you,' because yo, that next day, once you get up from that fire, you're going to really feel good about it." What else the artist is feeling good about is that this latest work is coming out on an independent label... "Musically...it's like freedom for me."

From Haiti (he attempted a presidential run there in 2010) to growing up in Brooklyn ("I was like a jazz major in high school. I played the upright bass," shares Jean), the artist, despite achieving worldwide fame and success, hasn't forgotten his humble beginnings in the music industry as he walks us through his career. "My first music video ever in the music business, I was an extra for Eric B. and Rakim," shares Jean, with a smile, "The song was called 'Don't Sweat The Technique.' Wherever Rakim is walking, I'm behind him, like, (waves), 'Don't sweat the technique!'"

"Then after that I started in a group in my basement called The Fugees," says Jean of the legendary hip hop group of which he was a founding member, before breaking into song, "See you must understand, I can't work no 9 to 5, so I'll be gone til November, said I'll be gone til November, I'll be gone til November. Tell my girl I'll be gone til November, I'll be gone til November, I'll be gone til November..."

"Then after that, because of my producing chops, I got a chance to work with the late Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson..." Jean continues, "Donnie Einer, at Columbia at the time, he was like, 'We have this girl called Shakira' so we got in and we created what was called 'Hips Don't Lie.'"

The star-studded musical collaborations don't end there. With his additional musical touchstones including R&B, reggae, and rock and roll, Jean has had the opportunity to work with artists as diverse as Beyonc, Bono, Carlos Santana, Tom Jones, Lil Wayne and Akon who have sought out Jean as both a producer and collaborator.

And while it may be hard to keep tabs on a man as busy as Wyclef Jean is these days, the artist makes sure he's accessible to his legions of fans. "Right now we're setting up a summer tour so the best ways to keep up with me, of course they can go on HeadsMusic.com [HeadsAudio.com], see what we're doing. They can also follow me on Wyclef on my Twitter, Instagram and all that good stuff."

For even more info, check out Wyclef Jean's official site at Wyclef.com.