Wyclef Jean - Creole 101 (Welcome To Haiti) (Can)
Product Information
Track List: Creole 101 (Welcome To Haiti) (Can)
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Album Details: Creole 101 (Welcome To Haiti) (Can)
- Release Date:
- 08/03/2004
- Label:
- Bmg Int'l
- UPC:
- 828766316025
Pro Reviews: Creole 101 (Welcome To Haiti) (Can)
| EXPERT RATING: No Rating From AMG Reviews Stepping aside from the majorlabel playing field for a moment, the everunpredictable Wyclef Jean indulges in his Caribbean heritage on Welcome to Haiti: Creole 101, an essentially noncommercial album released on the downlow by Sak Pasé Records in late 2004. The fulllength effort is a whirlwind musical journey through Caribbean music styles, as written and produced by Wyclef and righthand man Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis. Sure, Wyclef has always shown an affinity for Caribbean music, but he's always fused it with his other affinities, namely hiphop and pop/rock. Not so here: this a fullfledged Caribbean album that careens from style to style within the course of a single song, more often than not showcasing glints of everything from reggaeton to cumbia without ever succumbing on the confines of a single style. It's really an amazing listen, especially if you're at all attracted to Caribbean music. Rarely if ever does the music feel bythenumbers, and Wyclef maneuvers through his musical tapestry with astonishing ease, even switching from English language to Creole whenever he so feels the need. In fact, you could argue that this is the most naturalsounding Wyclef album to date since nothing is forced (i.e., no forceful fusions of, say, hiphop and pop à la Wyclef's notorious poprap interpolations). Then again, anyone who favors the hiphop side of Wyclef or, more broadly speaking, his commercial side is going to find little to grasp onto here. "President" stands out as the album's obvious crossover attempt, and while it's a really great song that is among Wyclef's best and most heartfelt, it's unrepresentative of the remainder of the album, very little of which could ever find its way onto any commercial radio format in America. That's how freewheeling this album is it's so freewheeling that Wyclef's majorlabel affiliate, J Records, let this one pass by. The audience for an album like this is quite small, no doubt: of Wyclef's fan base, only those who enjoy him at his most creative or most Caribbean should consider this release. There are definitely no "Gone Till November"s here. That said, Welcome to Haiti: Creole 101 is nonetheless an amazing album and one that deserves acclaim. It's all the more testament to Wyclef's wayward genius. [The Canadian edition was released by BMG a few months before Koch released the U.S. edition. The track listings differ slightly, and you might consider this Canadian edition if you're especially interested in this album because it features French versions of three of the album's best songs: "FistibalFestival," "La Vie Ghetto," and "24 Heures à Vivre." On the other hand, it lacks the remix of "President" featured on the stateside edition.] - Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide |
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Wyclef Jean Biography
Lead Fugees rapper and sometime guitarist Wyclef Jean was the first member of his group to embark on a solo career, and he proved even more ambitious and eclectic on his own. As the Fugees hung in limbo, Wyclef also became hiphop's unofficial multicu...Full Wyclef Jean Biography
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