Showing posts with label wyclef jean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wyclef jean. Show all posts
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Lauryn Hill On The Possibility Of New Music With The Fugees
On Monday night (April 19), Lauryn Hill was supporting an event for the Tanzania Education Trust in New York City and hinted about recording with the Fugees. Ms. Hill states she's very excited about some ideas that could possibly, perhaps bring the group together. Whether with the Fugees or even solo, it would be a treat either way.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Jimmy Cliff Honored By Wyclef Jean At Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony
Courtesy of the CaribWorldNews
(On Monday, March 15 in NYC), (Jimmy) Cliff turned the Waldorf Astoria ballroom into a dancehall as he thrilled with 3 of his all time favorite hits. After graciously thanking the Museum organizers for the honor, Cliff got down to what truly makes him great as he kicked off his set with "You Can Get It If You Really Want" before moving on to the inspirational "Many Rivers To Cross."
As the guest, who shelled out $1200 for the event got to their feet and thunderous applause echoed in the ball room as Mr. Cliff pulled his final note of the song, he was joined by Haitian Grammy-singer Wyclef Jean.
Jean, who moments earlier he had inducted the man he called his inspiration and the only living reggae legend into the Hall Of Fame pulled out his guitar and join Cliff on a tune that catapulted the St. James native to worldwide fame.
The two rocked out on "The Harder They Come," as Jean urged all to get up. The audience needed little encouragement as they took to their feet and turned the formerly mundane event into a rocking party.
Read the full article here:
CaribWorldNews - Call Him Rock N Roll Hall Of Famer Jimmy Cliff
More PHOTOS: Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony with Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff honored by Wyclef Jean in NYC:
Getty Images
Wire Image 1
Wire Image 2
Wire Image 3
Wire Image 4
Film Magic 1
Film Magic 2
If you missed the original airing of the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony, Fuse will re-broadcast the event Sunday, March 21 at 5 PM PC & Eastern/4 PM Central.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Wyclef Honored At Harvard University; Does Head Stands & Backflips
via Harvard University Gazette
Haitian-American musician and record producer Wyclef Jean has been named 2010 Artist of the Year by the Harvard Foundation of Harvard University. The Grammy Award-winning musician will receive the group’s most prestigious medal at the annual Cultural Rhythms award ceremony on (Saturday) Feb. 27.
The Harvard Cultural Rhythms festival will begin that day at 3 p.m. in Sanders Theatre. The award will be presented around 4 p.m. There also will be an 8 p.m. performance.
“His contributions to music and distinguished history of creativity have been appreciated by people throughout the world,” said S. Allen Counter, director of the Harvard Foundation, “and he is admired worldwide for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of the people of Haiti.”
Photos:
Wire Image
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Wyclef Jean To Honor Jimmy Cliff At Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony
According to Rolling Stone magazine, Wycleff Jean will induct reggae great Jimmy Cliff at this year's Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony March 15th at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Hope For Haiti Performances With Jay-Z, Rihanna, Bono, Beyonce, Alicia Keys & More
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Lauryn Hill Schedules Rare Show At 2010 Raggamuffin Festival In New Zealand
via the press release
The Raggamuffin Music Festival is pleased to announce LAURYN HILL will join the 2010 bill.
Lauryn Hill, an American recording artist, musician, producer and actress established her reputation in the hip-hop world as the lone female member of the Fugees. She sang at Harlem's Apollo Theater at age thirteen and soon after met Prakazrel 'Pras' Michel and his cousin, Wyclef Jean and the three formed the Fugees.
In 1996 the group released their second album which Ms Hill co-wrote and co-produced. The Score sold over 18 million copies, making the Fugees the biggest-selling rap group of all time and winning them two Grammy Awards (Best Rap Album and Best R&B Performance by a duo or group).
A few years later after meeting her long-term partner, Rohan Marley son of Bob Marley, Ms Hill launched her solo career and released the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The recording earned her five Grammy Awards and praise from industry heavyweights such as Public Enemy's Chuck D who admiringly described her as "sunlight" and a "Bob Marley (of the) 21st Century".
Ms Hill will perform at Raggamuffin with SLY & ROBBIE.
Also performing is another member of the Fugees WYCLEF JEAN(?!), plus son of Bob Marley JULIAN MARLEY, SHAGGY, SEAN KINGSTON reggae legends STEEL PULSE and NZ's own KATCHAFIRE, SOLA ROSA & IVA LAMKUM, PACIFIC HERBS and SWEET & IRIE. Over ten hours of funk, dub, hip-hop, soul and of course reggae from four kiwi bands and seven Internationals, resulting in one hot show! (source)
For more information click here:
Raggamuffin 2010 New Zealand
For tickets:
click here
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Wyclef Jean Goes Back To School At Berklee Collage Of Music
via the Boston Herald
Attending Berklee has been a goal of the 37-year-old, Haitian-born Wyclef’s since high school. Raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., and then New Jersey, he dropped out of Five Towns College of Long Island to devote himself to the Fugees full time. Now he’s fulfilling his dream of finishing college at Berklee.
“Berklee’s the best,” he said. “It’s like you’ve got the Honda and you’ve got the Ferrari. I don’t take the Honda no more. I moved up from the Honda. I’m like, give me the Ferrari. Give me the 360 Modena that’s fully equipped with the best. And that’s Berklee. From the studio programs to the theory programs to the ensembles, there’s nothing like it. Because I’m telling you, I live in the studio. I could have just been here recording an album right now. This is the truth.”
Though Wyclef has family in Boston and visits regularly, he hasn’t spent much time on the Berklee campus studying this semester or checking out Boston. He does most of his schoolwork via online courses; his few trips to campus have been for one-on-one classes with professors.
“I was incognito a few times,” he said. “I did come in for some classes, but it’s like I come in and I just jump in the car with my driver and then I’m out. I mostly do the online class. But next semester I’m telling my record company and my manager that I want to be here more. Because what I’ve learned already is that when I’m one-on-one with a teacher or physically in a class, I’m gonna get more out of it.”
Read the full article here:
Boston Herald - The education of Wyclef Jean
Learn more about the Berklee Collage of Music here:
Berklee website
Monday, November 9, 2009
Tuesday 11/10 Street Date Album Reviews Wale, Wyclef Jean And More
Wale - Attention Deficit
(Interscope/ Allido)
via the New York Times
While Wale has long cited Black Thought, lead rapper of the Roots, as his strongest influence, Kanye West (an acknowledged Wale fan) looms over “Attention Deficit,” although he had no direct role. The productions often sample old funk, particularly horn sections, emulating Mr. West’s orchestral arrangements and annunciatory buildups. Wale comes close to a direct West imitation in “Mama Told Me,” from its windchimes to its “never ever” refrain.
Still, Wale could have chosen far worse models than Mr. West, who never feigned being a thug. Wale can admit to (former) insecurity in a song like “Shades,” about being a dark-skinned young man ignored by lighter-skinned girls. He also musters compassion, in the waltzing “Diary,” for a woman wounded by love and, in “90210,” for a “regular girl” with “celebrity dreams” growing increasily desperate in Beverly Hills, succumbing to bulimia, cocaine and promiscuity.
via the Washington Post
For proof of Wale's lyrical acrobatics, look no further than "Pretty Girls," where the rapper's best pickup line involves two bottles of champagne, a football joke and a healthy credit rating: "What you sippin' on? It's no problem/Black and gold bottles like I'm pro-New Orleans/But shorty, I'm far from a Saint/But I got two AmExes that look the same way."
This is some masterful wordplay -- with an emphasis on play -- and it makes for the album's most dazzling cut. The song's thundering, go-go-inflected track helps, too. Production duo Best Kept Secret built it around a sample from local stalwarts Backyard Band and it sounds like a house party crumbling in an earthquake. How it will fare on national radio is anyone's guess, but for locals fluent in go-go, "Pretty Girls" is a thriller.
Wale has a fantastic ear for beats, though you wouldn't know it after hearing "Attention Deficit" in its entirety. There's some real dreck from producers Mark Ronson ("90210") and the Neptunes ("Let It Loose"). Wale is either adopting the please-all-audiences model West popularized, or his label's invisible hand is fussing with the dials. (In a delicious stroke of irony, Interscope reportedly zapped a song from the track list titled "Artistic Integrity.")
via Pitchfork
6.6 rating
Opener "Triumph", a terrific, Afro-beat-inspired production by TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek, indicates this will be a sonic adventure. It's not particularly. "Mama Told Me" is a sort of post-Kanye reflection on how difficult it is coming up in the game, namedropping people in his life whose names you will not recognize. It's been done before and better. "Mirrors" is sonically consistent-- squealing horns and down-low bass-- but also features that tried-and-true rap trope: the Bun B feature. It's negligible. "Pretty Girls" is an ode to women via his native Washington D.C. sound, produced by longtime partner Best Kept Secret, sampling legendary Go-Go crew the Backyard Band, and featuring that group's Weensey. It's a classic hip-hop raveup, loose and fun. And then Atlanta's Gucci Mane shows up. Wasn't this supposed to be a D.C. anthem? "World Tour" is typically bland, R&B diva-led (in this case Jazmine Sullivan) nostalgia-stroking patter. "Let It Loose" is the Pharrell record. Six songs in and we're hitting all the bases, without any sense of what it means to be Wale.
Wyclef Jean - From the Hut, to the Projects, to the Mansion
(Carnival House/Megaforce/Sony Music)
via the Los Angeles Times
3 stars out of four
Partnering with mix-tape master DJ Drama, (Wyclef) Jean seems determined to change that. Here, he introduces his Toussaint St. Jean alter-ego, inspired by Haitian liberator Toussaint L'Ouverture. The fictional guise coupled with furor at his also-ran status has injected a hunger in Jean. Childhood anecdotes about receiving his first pair of shoes and the crushing poverty in Haiti, ("Warrior's Anthem") provide a gritty poignancy he'd lacked since going pop. "Toussaint Vs. Bishop," and "Letter from the Penn" triumph thanks to Jean's sincerity.
Melanie Fiona - The Bridge
(SRC/Motown Universal)
via the Associated Press/Yahoo
Melanie Fiona may be eccentric. Or maybe she's just madly in love. Either way, her debut CD is an impressive mix of tracks that presents the many sides of the woman.
"The Bridge" finds the 26-year-old newcomer begging her man to stay put on the uptempo "Please Don't Go (Cry Baby)," leaving her lover behind on the impeccable "Monday Morning," and demanding her partner treat her the right way between the sheets on the groovy first single, "Give It to Me Right."
(MF) DOOM - Unexpected Guests
(Gold Dust Media)
via Pitchfork
5.9 rating
The early news of DOOM compilation Unexpected Guests positioned it as a field report from the indie MC's late-decade wilderness period, spanning a half-committed star turn (2005's Danger Doom collaboration with Danger Mouse) to this year's bullish return to form on Born Like This. And it is... except when it isn't-- "Rock Co.Kane Flow", taken from De La Soul's The Grind Date, actually finds DOOM doing something of a victory lap in 2004 after his essential triad of Take Me to Your Leader (released under the name King Geedorah), Vaudeville Villain (Viktor Vaughn), and Madvillainy (Madvillain). "Rock Co.Kane Flow" is a fantastic symbiosis of DOOM's many playful styles, but the beat itself feels weightier than what we're used to from De La and the stakes higher (ahem) than what we're used to from DOOM when he guests on a track. The other high(er)-profile collaborations on Unexpected don't always fare as well-- while "Da Supafriendz" spotlights a nerdy side of Vast Aire that often goes overlooked amidst Cannibal Ox's doomsayer image, "Fly That Knot" is the second hopelessly corny track DOOM's done with Talib Kweli (see also: "Old School" from The Mouse and the Mask) and most of the blame lies with Kweli's increasing ineptitude at hook-writing, it's clear these two share more camaraderie than chemistry.
Read each album review here:
New York Times - Wale
Washington Post - Wale opens a panderer's box
Pitchfork - Wale
L.A. Times - Album review: Wyclef Jean's 'From the Hut, to the Projects, to the Mansion'
Associated Press/Yahoo - Melanie Fiona's debut CD is solid
Pitchfork - DOOM
For a full list of November 10 New Releases:
Hip Hop And R & B New Releases 11/10
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Akon, Wyclef and Africa's Brightest Music Stars Shine at 2009 MTV Africa Music Awards Show
2nd Annual 2009 MTV Africa Music Awards took place at the Moi International Sports Centre in Nairobi, Kenya Saturday October 10.
Check out the VIDEO highlights from the show with Akon, Wyclef and more here:
AFP - MTV Africa Music Awards 2009
A complete list of 2009 MTV Africa Music Awards Show nominees and winners:
Nigerianhiphop.net
Photos:
Getty Images - Show
Getty Images - Red Carpet
Getty Images - Pre-Show Prep
Monday, September 28, 2009
Wyclef Uses Branding, Partnerships and Music For Charitable Organization
Wyclef Jean unveiled a new charitable partnership with clothing and footwear company Timberland today (Sept. 24) during an Advertising Week Q&A session conducted by Billboard editorial director Bill Werde at the Times Center in New York.
For every pair of Timberland boots sold, $2 will be donated to Jean's Yele Haiti Foundation, which will help aid reforestation in that country. "I really think that we're going to sell a whole lot of boots and I really think we're going plant a whole lot of trees in Haiti," Jean said during the afternoon session.
Jean touched on a number of other topics during the Q&A, including his next planned releases, upcoming deals with other mega-brands and the work he's doing to help Haitian students through his foundation.
A day earlier, the artist attended the Clinton Global Initiative in New York -- spearheaded by former President Bill Clinton -- to discuss college scholarships for Haitian students in need.
Additionally, Jean will be the new face of Western Union for the next 16 months. The partnership launches Nov. 2 at an event in Times Square. Tomorrow (Sept. 25), he will join Avril Lavigne and Brad Paisley for a commercial shoot for upcoming T-Mobile television spots. "A deal like T-Mobile brings the brand of Wyclef Jean and makes it relevant," Jean said.
Despite his busy schedule with branding opportunities and charity work, Jean is releasing a mix tape on Nov. 12, and he premiered two tracks at the panel. One of the tracks, "Suicide Love," features Eve, who joined Jean onstage at Billboard's Amp'D Up Advertising Week kickoff event on Monday (Sept. 21) at the Nokia Theater, which Jean headlined. Jean will release a self-titled album in March.
Photos from the press conference/Q&A:
Getty Images
Article:
billboard.biz
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