Wyclef Jean is flipping through a magazine in his Platinum Studios in midtown Manhattan. He’s whipping through a string of interviews to promote his third solo CD, Masquerade. A diamond-studded lion rests on his chest. “It’s from the 12 Tribes of Judah,” he explains. “I’m from the tribe of Levi. That’s where the Haitian tribe descended. It means power.” Besides the bling-bling of the pendant, Clef’s in jeans, a tee, and sneakers. “I’m in the music industry but you might see me on Flatbush and you think it’s a dred selling coco bread. I’m a people’s person. I can get in a limo but I think that’s wack. I’d rather jump on my Ducati and hit the road. Sometimes I ask the chauffeur to let me drive. They think I’m real crazy. But I was a gypsy cab driver. That’s how I paid for my college education”
Wyclef wasn’t born with diamonds around his neck. In fact, his lead single “PJ’s” is an ode to his humble beginnings. Just like his remake of Frankie Valli’s “Oh What A Night.” “That’s a song my father used to clean bathrooms to when I was young,” Clef reveals. “Whenever that song came on, we used to jump around with plungers. That song made me forget that we were working for $4.50 an hour.” On this latest project, Clef is keeping it all the way real. He’s telling kids to stay in school, rookie rappers to watch their backs when signing label deals and letting everyone know he’s got skills. “It’s sort of like going back to the essence for me, like back to my hip-hop roots,” he assures. “Lyrically, I took my time. The album was done in like 2 1/2 months. I felt like this was my first CD. I wanted to make sure the essence of the grime of Wyclef Jean was still represented. It’s like an autobiography, to show kids how Wyclef became Wyclef Jean.”
“I’m ahead of my time like Jimi Hendrix playing Woodstock,” raps Clef on “80 Bars.” “I came in this game like a hip-hop musician,” he points out. “We came in with “Vocab” [from Blunted on Reality] with an acoustic guitar. “Killing Me Softly,” Fender Rhodes. Music is always the strongest element of what we do. I think if I came in and all I did was rhyme I don’t think I would be here. That’s why I said on “The Score:” ‘Wyclef the multi-talented, average heads can’t handle it. I bring it to you live only if you want it.’ My musical taste is versatile. That’s who I am. If this is Jeopardy, I’ll take rock n’ roll for $500. Give me hip-hop for $1,000. Give me country music for $200. I’m a musical historian. I grew up listening to all kinds of music. And somehow 30 years later I can mix it up and turn it into something.” Whether he’s the rapper or producer, Clef has the Midas Touch. “A producer is like a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist makes you feel relaxed. Like you’re in total control. But in actuality, the psychiatrist is in total control. I go into the studio with a legend like Carlos Santana and I don’t go in on an ego trip. I play him the ideas and when he feels comfortable to the tee that I have his back, then he lets me just do what I do. And that’s when I stick it to him with “Maria, Maria.”
One of Wyclef’s greatest assets is his ability to drop a rowdy anthem like the title track with MOP and Freddie Foxxx and then follow it up with “Daddy,” a tribute to his father who recently passed away and the “911“-like ballad “Two Wrongs” with City High’s Claudette Ortiz. “That’s my favorite song, ‘Daddy.’ It’s my emotional, vulnerable side. It’s important that I be vulnerable at times. I’m not trying to be a tough guy. Because I like to show kids you can be a bad ass but sometimes it’s OK if you want to cry.” At times Clef feels like a lone soldier doing what he does. “I always tell people it’s harder for me when I coming out with a record than for Jay-Z or Puffy because I’m representing a whole other side of hip-hop. I’m one of the last of the hip-hop musicians that wants to be a little conscious. I miss the versatility in rap. I want Masquerade to be nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Album. It wouldn’t mean as much for me, but if our peers can help move this type of hip-hop forward, it would make it look like the next hip-hop can come like that.”
