Wyclef Jean Wyclef Jean was born as Nelust Wyclef Jean in 1972. He was born in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti. When he was nine, Wyclef moved to Brooklyn, New York with his family. He then moved to New Jersey where he attended high school. It was at this school that he learned how to play the guitar and also studied jazz. After high school Jean worked as a cab driver before hooking up with his close friends and classmates, Pras and Lauryn Hill. The trio originally called themselves the Tranzlator Crew before they settled on The Fugees. In 1994 Jean married his wife, Marie Claudinette Jean. They remain married today and in March of 2005 they adopted their first baby girl, Angelina Claudinelle from Haiti. Jean remains very supportive of his native country and even founded the charity organization, Yele Haiti, which provides humanitarian aid and assistance to the country, which is one of the poorest in the western hemisphere. Jean says the goals of the organization are to restore pride, empower the people, and help them rebuild their nation. Both Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are big supporters of the organization and have donated their time supporting the cause. Jean, also supportive of his upbringing in the states, started the charity foundation, Clef Kids. The goal of this organization is to help inner-city kids. Through this program, Jean holds a music education program for talented young musicians. He has even given them the opportunity to perform with him at a performance in Carnegie Hall.
Jean and his group were not an overnight success. The Fugees first album, Blunted on Reality, was a commercial failure. It was not until their second album, The Score, that they became superstars. The album went on to sell 17 million copies. Soon after the success of their second group album, Jean decided to create a solo album, The Carnival, which stilled featured tracks with Pras and Lauryn. This album had two hit singles, We Trying to Stay Alive and Gone Til November. Although The Fugees remained supportive of each other’s works, all three created successful solo careers for themselves. This pushed back their proposed third album. Meanwhile, Jean collaborated with other artists including: Santana, Cypress Hill, Whitney Houston, Sublime, Mya, Mick Jagger, and The Black Eyed Peas. Jean’s fifth solo album, Sak Pase Presents: Welcome to Haiti (Creole 101). The album was released in 2004. Much of the album was recorded in his native language of Haitian Creole, once again showing his support for his country. Later that year, Jean won a Golden Globe nomination for his single Million Voices which was featured on the Hotel Rwanda soundtrack. Wyclef is known for writing and performing songs with a cause. He often performs in fundraisers for charity organizations and works to get other celebrities involved as well. One of these events came in 2005 when he participated in a benefit for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The show was called “Fashion for Relief” and featured Nicole Richie, Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Osbourne, Naomi Campbell, and Janice Dickenson. Rock couple, Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani, was among some of the attendees. |
