Written for Kurrent Music
Published June 30th 2017
Even though he’s not the household name he may have been at the end of the 90s, Wyclef Jean, is most definitely still around. In fact, he’s a pretty prolific artists, who’s been dropping new tracks on a regular bases. And all of the material is very diverse and interesting.
This year alone, he’s released several tracks. First as part of the “J’Ouvert” EP, which was released in February of this year, and now, he’s releasing tracks to promote a full blown album, “The Carnival Vol. III: The Fall & Rise of a Refugee” (or “Carnival III” in short). The album will be released later this month, and is currently available for pre-order.
The EP that Wyclef released, earlier this year, had one major surprise on it. He covered an old French chanson called “Ne Me Quitte Pas” (Don’t Leave Me). The video of him performing the song reached over 1 million views on Vevo and a very mixed review by fans. Some applause his bravery to take on a French song and others debate whether it really is French or Belgian French. Oh, well you can never please everyone. C’est la Vie. But musically, the song is also different from anything he’s done, even though beats and shout-outs bring this song slightly up to date.