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Balle balle Wyclef Jean: ‘I am a big fan of bhangra’

Since that day the only goal in Wyclef’s life has been to get his mother out of the ghetto and give her a better life. This was back in 1984. Almost 25 years later this guitarist has not only found a life of higher quality for his mother but has also managed to establish himself as a musician and one of the leading music producers.

Well-known as a member of the hip-hop trio, The Fugees, Wyclef met his band mates during his high school days. Their first album Blunted on Reality failed to generate any hype in the popular music scene. Their second album, The Score, is what brought the spotlight on the group. The Score went multi-platinum, earned The Fugees Grammy Awards and was declared as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. However, the three members saw themselves as solo artists and decided to disband.

“We did not dissolve actually; rather all three of us evolved. I had been nourishing my dream of becoming a producer at that time and decided to take that dream one step further,” says the Haitian-American producer who went on to release the Carnival, his first studio album featuring his ex-band mates of The Fugees and also the jazz quintet of the Neville brothers.

Wyclef’s debut solo album lifted the hip-hop movement in New York from the underground and crashed it into the mainstream scene.

In the process, the seeds of Wyclef’s successful solo career were sown. In addition to being a singer, rapper and guitar player now Wyclef was also a producer who specialised in collaborations.

Not only were his next studio albums chart toppers but they churned out hits like “Maria Maria” featuring Will.IAm of Black Eyed Peas and guitar legend Carlos Santana. But the icing on the cake was the release of “Hips Don’t Lie” with Columbian pop star Shakira.

“All of us come from similar nations and it was natural making music with these greats, as if we were all destined to work with each other,” says Wyclef whose list of collaborations with legendary musicians also include Bono of U2 and R ’n’ B sensation Mary. J. Blige.

Though Wyclef’s seen every side of success through his illustrious musical career he has never forgotten the impoverished community he was raised in. In 2005 Wyclef started the Yele Haiti Foundation to offer scholarships to children living below poverty line in Haiti and it’s neighbouring islands. Alongside the scholarship programme a HIV prevention campaign was also launched to raise awareness about the disease among the natives. Impeccable songwriting skills, tremendous production value of his records and awesome guitar play has earned Wyclef a huge fan following around the globe. He has been rated as one of the greatest music producers since Quincy Jones. Critics have compared him to the likes of Bob Marley and the late great Jimi Hendrix and now he is getting his act to India for the first time.

“Well I feel like Bob Marley before his first trip to England. India remains an unconquered musical territory. I hope people like my music there. I am a big fan of bhangra and I have already composed a song titled ‘Hollywood Meets Bollywood’ which features Chamillionaire and Indian music director Aadesh Srivastav. India is a land of spiritual energy for me,” asserts Wyclef.

Wyclef, who will be performing as part of VH1’s Handpicked in Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai is all set to entertain his Indian fans with some great music. After all this was the man who burnt his fingers by setting his guitar on fire at Woodstock’ 99 as a tribute to Jimi Hendrix while playing “The Star Spangled Banner”.

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