Wyclef Jean

It's been a decade since Wyclef turned out the first Carnival LP, and the sequel shows that he hasn't lost his taste for unlikely collaborations, hip-hop, candy-sweet choruses and guitar showboating. The result is mixed. "Fast Car," a duet with Paul Simon, is as successful as "Any Other Day," with Norah Jones, is bland. Attempting to recreate magic with Shakira yields schizophrenic results on "King and Queen," but duets with Mary J. Blige and T.I. show off his writing skills. The lack of gratuitous skits and focus on heavy social issues shows how 'Clef has grown.

Is there such a thing as too eclectic? Since his dynamic 1997 solo debut, The Carnival, the
Haitian ex-Fugee has seemed out to prove his many and varied talents: He sings, raps,
produces, plays guitar (and several other instruments), speaks English, French, Spanish and
Creole (and a few other languages), has production credit on monster hits like Shakira's
"Hips Don't Lie" and maintains a fat Rolodex. On this coda to Carnival, that last ass... More >