Nel Yust Wyclef Jean is an American musician born on October 17, 1970 in Haiti. His father served as the pastor of the Church of the Nazarene. He named the boy in honor of the medieval reformer John Wycliffe.
At the age of 9, Jean's family moved from Haiti to Brooklyn, but then to New Jersey. Here the boy began to study, he developed a love for music.
The Early Life of Nel Juste Wyclef Jean
Since childhood, Jean Wyclef was surrounded by music. He immediately fell in love with jazz. He was attracted by the enchanting rhythms and the emotions that the music of this genre can convey. From an early age, Jean began to play music and took guitar lessons.
Having perfectly mastered the instrument in 1992, Jean organized a group that included friends and neighbors of the musician. The Fugees team moved away from the canons of jazz, because then there was already an era of hip-hop and rap.
But the musician managed to create unique musical compositions even in this style, which immediately made the band famous in New Jersey.
After all, other bands performing in a similar style could only set the beat. Whereas Wyclef's guitar provided the full sound.
Jean Wyclef's first group lasted 5 years and disbanded in 1997. But the team reunited in the mid-2000s and gave several successful concerts. The Fugees account for 17 million copies of CDs sold to fans.
The Fugees' best-selling album was The Score. Today it has entered the list of legendary albums recorded in the hip-hop genre. Unfortunately, it was after the recording of this disc that The Fugees broke up.
But back to the album, which was recorded in the genre of alternative hip-hop. In addition to the main tracks, the album included several bonus tracks, remixes and Jean Wyclef's solo acoustic composition Mista Mista.
The record turned out to be commercially successful, even reaching the 1st position in the main US charts. According to music industry experts, The Score was certified six times platinum.
In addition to fans who voted for this LP in dollars, the record received good reviews from critics.
Rolling Stone magazine included The Score in the top 500 best music albums. The musicians of The Fugees received a Grammy Award for this work.
The breakup of The Fugees and solo career
In 1997, immediately after the collapse of the band, Jean Wyclef released his debut solo work, The Carnival. The disc was certified double platinum in the US, featuring tracks as varied as hip hop, reggae, soul, Cubano and traditional Haitian music.
Composition Guantanamera from the album The Carnival is today considered a classic of alternative hip-hop.
In 2001 Jean released The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book. The musician's fans, who miss the works of their idol, greeted the release of the album with great enthusiasm.
The first print run sold out very quickly. He, like the previous work of Wyclef, went platinum.
But some critics reacted rather coldly to the record. The musician departed from his principles of innovation and created an album in the canons that were accepted among musicians of the hip-hop genre.
But Jean Wyclef's third solo album received the greatest impact. Disc Masquerade, which was released in 2002, is considered the most significant in the world of rap.
Musically, Wyclef has become even closer to his roots. He began to work even more with traditional Haitian music.
Jean Wyclef today
Today, the musician has become even more interested in reggae. This style is closer to Haiti than hip hop and rap. The musician created the Yele Haiti Foundation and is an ambassador for the island.
In 2010, Jean even wanted to become President of his homeland, but the election commission blocked this decision. The musician had to live on the island for the last 10 years.
In 2011, he was elevated to the rank of Grand Officer of the National Order of Honor. The musician is very proud of this award. He believes that one day he will become the president of Haiti and will be able to make sure that his fellow citizens can regain their lost happiness.
In 2014, together with Carlos Santana and Alexandre Pires, the musician performed the anthem of the World Cup in Brazil. The song was played during the official closing ceremony of the tournament.
In 2015, Jean Wyclef released the album Clefication. This time it failed to go platinum. True, fans of the singer and musician believe that the internet is to blame.
By old reckoning, the record would have gone platinum multiple times. After all, today you can easily buy a digital version of the album and send it to your friends. This means that their votes will not be counted.
But Jean Wyclef lives not only with music. Today, he is increasingly acting in films and himself shoots social documentaries. He has nine films to his credit. Among the most famous are Hope for Haiti (2010) and Black November (2012).
In addition to his excellent guitar skills, Jean Wyclef plays keyboards. He has produced songs for Whitney Houston and the American girl group Destiny's Child. The musician has a duet with Shakira.
The composition Hips Don't Lie in many charts of popular music occupied a leading position. Jean Wyclef is inducted into the Hip Hop Hall of Fame.
Attempts were made to perpetuate the name of the musician in other music halls of fame, but Jean himself is critical of these attempts.
