Wyclef Jean is a modern day enigma, a musical question mark. His presence calls to mind words like ‘multi-dimensional’, ‘multi-talented’, and ‘multi-platinum’. Clef always keeps his audience guessing and never comes with the same flow twice. For this his fans are grateful – if sometimes a little nervous.

In his decade in the music industry Wyclef has sported many different hats. Rapper, DJ, lyricist, producer, musician and activist. From the very start of his career, he set out to let listeners know his style was different. He set him self apart from others in the rap genre by not following the masses down the road of gansta rap: his social conscience, perhaps a by-product of being raised a minister’s son.

In the early 1990’s Wyclef teamed up with fellow Jersey MCs Lauryn Hill and Pras Michel. They experimented with melding different musical styles into rap and emerged with a reggae-infused, alternative brand of hip-hop. They went on to call themselves The Fugees [a name fellow Haitians used to refer to refugees] and unleashed their unprecedented success called “The Score” in 1993. That album went onto multi-platinum status. It was a tremendous crossover success that featured soulful songs, skillful rhyming, clever sampling, wicked guitar licks and an occasional wailing voice reminiscent of Robert Nesta Marley. That album introduced the comical interlude as a staple in the art form. On the heels of this explosive entry into pop culture, The Fugees decided to pursue solo interests.

Wyclef , subsequently released his first solo project Carnival, followed by Ecleftic and Masquerade. His very eclectic mixtures of various forms of world music, with soul, disco and his native Caribbean rhythms, was sometimes well received, though often times misunderstood. Simultaneously, he was solidifying himself as a chart topping producer and songwriter. He created singles for artists such as Whitney Houston, Destiny’s Child, Santana, Mary J. Blige, Simply Red and many more.

Wyclef discussed his newest creative project in a recent interview *. “The album’s called The Preacher’s Son,” he explained, “because before the fame and fortune, I was a preacher’s son, and I still am. I’m from the church. My father was a minister. I was the director of the choir. My music comes from people in my life. It comes from me lookin’ out of the window and seeing the community, with the police, the drugs, the crack fiends.

“My father’s church was right there, he bought a funeral home so he could convert it into a church --- and we lived in it. My dad had this mission, he wanted to put a church right in the middle of this ghetto community, and he felt that it would change the community. That’s how deep his faith was.

“So that’s the kind of faith I’m bringing to this album. I feel if I talk about the realities and struggles of life, and I do it from my heart, and I don’t sugarcoat it, my faith is gonna manifest itself.*

Some may not think this is any different from the honesty and consciousness we experienced in the beginning of his career with The Score, but Clef goes on to tell us why it is. “I am a hip-hop musician, just like someone might consider themselves a jazz musician. I’m from the era of hip-hop; that’s what created me. I can’t denounce that; it’s where I’m from. Yes, in school, I did study jazz, I did study classical music, and I have a gospel Caribbean background. But there’s a whole lot less sampling on this album.

“This is Clef the songwriter: I’m giving you 14 songs. And from now on, this is what you’re gonna get from me. These songs are gonna be my legacy. Bob Marley, Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Billie Holiday, Jimmy Cliff, Stevie Wonder – these are some of my favorite people. What made them incredible? Their songs.*

Wyclef Jean has definitely made good on his promise. His new album “The Preacher’s Son”, the first to come out of the new merger between Clef Records and J Records, is set to be released on October 28th. Based on a brief preview the CD is completely off the chain!! At a recent album release party in New York, Clive Davis announced that the first single, “Party to Damascus” was the #1 Most Added R&B Crossover Request song according to Soundscan. This song features Missy Elliott, a woman who is already known in the industry for creating hits of her own. It sports an insane hook and a bass line that guarantees a spot on the playlist of every radio station and club. The album features collaborations with the incomparable Patti LaBelle, Carlos Santana, Monica, dancehall charters Elephant Man and Wayne Wonder as well as Redman to name just a few. The video for a cut called “Industry” is a call for peace and the redemption of hip-hop. It is a visual buffet of the industry’s best and brightest such as Queen Latifah, Marley Marl, Red Alert, Tyson Beckford, Big Pun, and Wendy Williams, and it ends with a graffiti tribute to Jam Master Jay.

With the success of this album feeling very much like a wrap, it’s safe to say that Wyclef has mentally started formulating his next move in the manifestation of his creative destiny. He concluded his interview with statements asserting that this is just the new beginning. “The great thing about having my own label through J Records is that now I can do my 50,000 limited edition, 12 song CD, just Clef playing guitar. I can do these big records for Clive, but then I can also do these musician-only records. For example, for the bicentennial of my country, Haiti, in 2004 to celebrate the first independent Black nation [in the Western Hemisphere], I’ll have my first all-Creole record. It’s already recorded, but I’m not putting it out until it’s time, in 2004.*

Wyclef is a strong believer in musical fusion and as such has dreams of starting a record label for world music. He expressed a desire to fuse Compas [Haiti’s national music] with reggae, dancehall and hip-hop as a means to reach the youth. “Preacher’s Son” seems to be the first step in that manifestation and the music world waits on bated breath for his vision to reach fruition. “Musically, this begins the Clef catalog you’ve always wanted. Let’s call it: the Clef Zone.*

* – Excerpted from an interview published in Keyboard Magazine. To read the interview in its entirety please visit www.keyboardmag.com.