Truthfully, Wyclef isn’t an outstanding rapper. After largely missing with their 1994 debut album Blunted on Reality, he hit the musical and commercial home run with The Score, which ended up going seven-times platinum. He had an aptitude for music and a love for hip-hop culture, and nurtured both until he formed the Fugees with Pras and Hill in the 1990s. His family first journeyed to the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn before eventually settling down in East Orange, New Jersey. Wyclef was born in Haiti, immigrating to the United States at a young age. Wyclef completed his first, releasing Wyclef Jean Presents the Carnival Featuring the Refugee All-Stars a.k.a. Striking while the iron was hot, each member of the group (Wyclef, Lauryn Hill, and Prakazrel “Pras” Michél, Wyclef’s cousin), each set about working on solo projects. Their breakout album, the multiplatinum The Score which was almost a year-and-a-half old at the time, was still flying off record store shelves and had won the Best Rap Album GRAMMY.
Given the current sorry state of affairs for Clef and the other members of the Fugees (which is a whole other story), it’s easy to forget that the group was on an absolute tear during the summer of 1997. Between the subpar music, failed runs for political office, lawsuits, and scandals, I’d imagine that when he looks back at the past twelve years, he’d acknowledge that many mistakes were made. Once considered an innovator and dynamic personality, the mighty Wyclef has fallen on tough times. The past decade-and-a-half has not been particularly kind to the legacy of Wyclef Jean, the formerly acclaimed rapper and producer, best known as one third of the short-lived hip-hop group, the Fugees.
Happy 25th Anniversary to Wyclef Jean’s debut album Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival featuring Refugee Allstars, originally released June 24, 1997.
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