Wyclef Jean

For Welcome to Haiti, Wyclef explores his musical ancestry and surprisingly delivers his most aesthetically diverse and addictively pop work to date. The Spanish spoken "Generation X" is misty Caribbean angst, while "Bicentennial" conflates salsa, hip-hop and Toni Basil. The "President" is the odd hip-hop polemic that is intellectually honest and deeply personal. Haiti is another celebratory, sad and satisfying masterpiece from one of hip-hop's most underappreciated figures. Only Wyclef could've done this.

Wily mixmaster Wyclef Jean wants the hip-hop nation to appreciate the suave splendor of
Haitian roots music. But he also wants to sell records, and this marketplace imperative ends
up turning the high-minded welcome into one watery pi–a colada. Jean drops
introductory-level rhymes, in English and Creole, over delicately spiced Haitian rhythms.
But most of these generic vamps take listeners only as far as the late-afternoon d... More >