Dollar, Dollar bill y’all - The Best of Wyclef Jean
So, what’s the deal. Where is this guy at? He sits in hip-hop but jumps all over the place and covers reggae, rap, rock and what-have-you. What’s the story here? We all know that he was a member of the reasonably successful Fugees. Wyclef was born and grew up in Haiti. He relocated to NJ, took the guitar, studied jazz and formed a group with a couple of folks, including Lauren Hill. Today, he’s released tons of albums on his own, he’s a major player in the music scene, he’s won a Grammy, he’s a singer, writer, songwriter and yeah, guess what, he had his own label : Yclef in 2000. In 2004, he created the foundation Yele Haiti to provide humanitarian aid and assistance to Haiti.
The whole deal with Wyclef keeps getting better if you think about it. Why leave your group stating that you wanted to embark on a solo career and then collaborate with every Jones (Nora), Simon (Paul) and Akon? Till, date the collaboration count is 75 - that’s right! boys and girls, our man has done his thing with 75 other artists.
It gets better - Wyclef has made sure that almost all his songs have a strong social message underlined throughout. The very fabric of these songs are a paradox - how can a song about the pain that someone goes through while being in a state of poverty actually make you want to dance? That being said, here’s what I’m going to do. Penning down what WJ is all about is an all-year blog entry but writing down what I think are the best things he’s ever done should be a cinch. Or, is it? Let’s see…
1. Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill) - With Akon, Lil Wayne and Niia
Let’s start right from the top. Hot damn, this hook’s just cant go away - I’m gon’ tell you,like you told me, cash rules everything around me, about a dollar bill y’all. Why does this keep playing on the airwaves as much? duh! It is no wonder the track has been the radio hit it has been. I’m nonplussed - when you have a song like this with some major power centers, thrown in a cool reference to old-school Wu Tang clan and how Cash rules Everything Around Me (C.R.E.A.M) and you have a hot hit.
2. Maria Maria - with Carlos Santana and the Product G&B
Arranged by Bobby Marin, this single reached number one and spent 10 weeks there in the summer of 2000. the song won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The song was produced by Wyclef Jean and Jerry Duplessis, who also helped write it. An awesome slow dancing track, tons of atmosphere and just that easy-laid-back feel that WJ instills in all his tracks.
3. We trying to Stay Alive with Pars and John Forte
This was the first single released from Wyclef’s debut album - the Carnival. Some cool raps by Pras and John Forte coupled with some groovy WJ production made this track the hot-steeper that it was. It hit the UK charts at #13 and spent 5 weeks on that chart. The US was a different proposition however, and it reached just #45 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. totally awesome track and damned if I say so, but this track seems much more lively than the original Beegees hit.
4. Fortunate Son
The 2004 remake of the Manchurian Candidate had much more than just good acting by Denzel Washington. The title track was haunting, apocalyptic and just plain angst-ridden. This was the kind of song that Jim Morrison probably sang when he walked into the hot desert to understand… not many folks would pick this song in their top 5. But, then I’m not all those folks. This is what I dig.
5.Hips D’ont Lie with Shakira
A multi-cultural mix of dance rhythms from Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America, the combination of Wyclef’s raps and Shakira’s Spanish accented melodious voice made this song the hip-shaking song that it became. Of course, I would like to think that having Shakira on any collaboration is a sure-fire way to succeed. Ha! An awesome lively song which does bring out its concerns about the problems of Haitians and Columbian refugees.
Special mention :
- President - From the album - Sak Pas¿, Welcome to Haiti Creole 101.This was the first single from the album and I’d like to think that Wyclef used the lyrics to tell the world just what he would do were he to be elected president. As he stated, “‘President’ is more than just a critique of the current political and social environment. It’s a message to young people about the importance of making their voices heard by voting and educating themselves about issues that affect their lives.”An awesome awesome track - I first heard it on the Chappelle show. Come back Dave - I need more laughs!
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I find the song, Dolla dolla bill y’all fascinating. It definitely has a social context to it. I alos just plain like the refrain. Anyhow I work in an environment which deals with cash so it is kind of a theme song for me.