Wyclef Jean biography

WYCLEF JEAN BIOGRAPHY

• Wyclef Jean Discography

'One time!' Probably the biggest thing to come out of Haiti since Voodoo, Wyclef Jean first thrust himself into stardom as a key member of 90s rap trio The Fugees. The first of that trio to go ahead with a solo career, Wyclef further made a name for himself as a collaborating artist and producer of no small repute, adding his own inimitable touches to tracks and albums by artists as varied as Shakira, Kenny Rogers, 'The Rock' (you know - the wrestler...) the New York Philharmonic, and Sinead O'Connor - what a set of dinner guests that line-up would be! In addition, Wyclef has become as well know for his tireless charity and humanitarian campaigning, particularly for projects in his native Haiti.

The son of a church minister, Nelust Wyclef Jean was born in Haiti in 1972, and his family moved to the projects of Brooklyn, NY in the early 1980s. As a teenager, Jean moved to New Jersey, and whilst at school he took up guitar and got into jazz. He started up a rap group with fellow Haitian, Prakazral Samuel Michel (who went by the thankfully shorter 'Pras') and Michel's classmate, Lauryn Hill. Originally operating under the name 'The Tranzlator Crew; the three then called themselves 'The Fugees', in tribute to Haitian refugees.

Their 1993 debut album, 'Blunted on Reality' did not exactly lay down a marker - in fact, it sold poorly, perhaps unsurprisingly given their ill-advised hardcore rap approach. Could a young, pretty girl and two Haitian boys rapping possibly hope to live up to the gangsta/bitch/gin n' juice type of lyrical content that was so popular at the time? The sales said not, and thankfully the trio saw sense, ignored what was flavour of the month in rap music, and in the shape of follow-up 'The Score' rustled up one of hip-hop's best selling albums of all time.