Wyclef Jean at the Blue Note

Summary

Podcast Summary: All Of It with Alison Stewart
Episode: Wyclef Jean at the Blue Note
Aired: September 10, 2025
Host: Alison Stewart, WNYC

Episode Overview

In this engaging, wide-ranging interview, Alison Stewart sits down with musician, producer, and activist Wyclef Jean ahead of his limited run at the iconic Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City. The conversation spans Wyclef’s deep musical roots, jazz influences, New York memories, his thoughts on technology and AI in music, reflections on Haitian identity, collaborations with Lauryn Hill, and his creative process—interspersed with raw personal stories and live musical moments. The result is both a celebration of Wyclef’s multifaceted artistry and a reflection on music’s power to unify and heal.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Blue Note Residency: Bringing Jazz and Hip Hop Home

[01:15–03:39]

• Wyclef’s anticipation for playing intimate Blue Note shows, emphasizing it as a return to his jazz roots and a chance to showcase his instrumental versatility.
• Influences: Mentions his mentor Quincy Jones, early jazz education, and inspirations like Cab Calloway and Gershwin.
• The Blue Note as a dream stage: “As a composer, you always say, man, I wonder what my set would feel like at the Blue Note, to combine the energy of the Americas and coming to America.” (Wyclef, [04:37])
• He’ll revisit the spirit of his 15-year-old self, playing upright bass, Fender Rhodes, and B3 organ live—revealing the musical depth behind his hits.

2. Memory & Resilience: September 11, New York, and Healing

[05:37–06:41]

• Reflection: As his Blue Note residency begins on the anniversary of 9/11, Wyclef responds, “Triumph is the word I’ll use. Defiant ones, you know, conqueror. So celebration. For me, it’s a celebration. It’s not a defeat.” ([05:50])
• Song reference: He recommends listeners check out his track “Heavens in New York” for the city’s spirit, emphasizing honoring both loss and endurance.

3. Jazz Roots: From School Band to Prodigy

[06:41–07:28]

• Describes himself as a “jazz prodigy” and performs a snippet of “Take the A Train” live, demonstrating his foundational jazz chops.
• “I’m really from that school.” (Wyclef, [07:28])

4. Genre Exploration and Musical Influences

[07:28–09:04]

• Musical rabbit holes: Shares his love for diving into catalogs of legends—Aretha, Etta James, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and Thelonious Monk.
• Jazz fusion & genre bending: “Jazz fusion is just an eclectic, like, putting it all together and like, making it feel good.” (Wyclef, [08:53])
• Thelonious Monk inspires his “boldness” in blending genres, as heard throughout his career, especially on “The Carnival.”

5. Guitar as Life Path: From Survival to Artistry

[09:04–10:29]

• Origin story: Tells of his mother giving him a guitar as a safer alternative to the streets.
  • “You could accomplish more with a guitar than you can with a gun. I always remember those words.” (Wyclef, [09:39])
• Emphasizes the importance of giving youth a focus—be it music, science, or sports—to keep them out of trouble.

6. Reinventing the Guitar: The 'Hip Hop Guitarist'

[10:29–11:26]

• Defines his identity as a “hip hop guitarist”—someone who fuses jazz, rock, blues, and hip hop, defying categorization:
  • “What I do is I put scales together, like, what you expecting not to work. I genre bend it and I make it work on the scales.” (Wyclef, [11:20])

7. Music and Technology: Embracing and Shaping AI

[11:26–14:38]

• Engineering roots: “Music is my second job. My first job is I’m an engineer by trade.” ([11:40])
• Wyclef consults for Google DeepMind and teaches students: “I am the master of AI. AI is not the master of I.” ([14:38])
• Advocates for creative people to embrace AI as a tool—not a threat—while stressing the need for updated copyright protections in the AI era.
  • “What the AI do not have is a soul. And the AI don’t have creativity.” (Wyclef, [13:30])

8. Back to Hip Hop: “Back from Abu Dhabi”

[15:15–18:42]

• Return to roots: New song “Back from Abu Dhabi” (feat. Rick Ross & French Montana) marks Wyclef’s return to rapping after 15 years.
  • “The idea of this song is to let everyone know that I’m back ... going back to my roots in the underground of where I started.” ([15:23])
• Shares enthusiasm for blending worldwide experience with a “New York state of mind.”
• Discusses the music video’s MMA theme and how it showcases both his creativity and athletic side.

9. Pandemic Reflections: “Distance” and Human Connection

[18:42–20:43]

• Shares the meaning behind “Distance,” a song crafted during the pandemic:
  • “...just because we can’t touch each other... if you just close your eyes, you’ll find me.” (Wyclef, [18:50])
• Plays a segment of “Distance,” emphasizing hope and togetherness amid isolation.

10. Reuniting with Lauryn Hill: Creative Synergy

[20:43–22:39]

• Recounts a sold-out London show with Lauryn Hill:
  • “When we, like, we don’t have to say anything. Like when we on that court, you know, it’s like, it’s just magic. I don’t have to look at her to throw her the ball.” (Wyclef, [21:38])
• Highlights their deep, decades-long creative partnership—dating back to their teens, before The Fugees.

11. On Haitian Heritage, Immigration, and American Identity

[22:39–25:06]

• Addresses issues facing the Haitian community in the US, advocating for recognition and respect.
• “Haitians contributed to Louisiana Purchase. ...we are heavily part of the health system...” (Wyclef, [23:13])
• “If something don’t feel normal, we all have to talk about it. Because if we don’t, then what happens is we get caught in this cycle where it becomes normality.” (Wyclef, [24:30])
• Quoting and remixing Martin Luther King: “Injustice for one is like injustice for all.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On his Blue Note residency:
  “So in saying that, what you’re going to get at the Blue Note is you’re going to get like that Wyclef at 15.” ([02:40])
• On genre synthesis:
  “Jazz fusion is just an eclectic, like, putting it all together and like, making it feel good.” ([08:53])
• His mother’s wisdom:
  “You could accomplish more with a guitar than you can with a gun.” ([09:39])
• On AI and creativity:
  “I am the master of AI. AI is not the master of I.” ([14:38])
• On rekindling hip hop:
  “There’s certain things that I want to say that through rhyme and through poetry is like, how I could say it.” ([18:12])
• On music as unity:
  “If you close your eyes and you meditate real hard and you hold my hand, I’m gonna hold yours.” ([18:50])
• On Lauryn Hill:
  “It’s just magic. I don’t have to look at her to throw her the ball. She don’t have to look at me.” ([21:38])
• On Haitian-American contributions:
  “So at the end of the day, right, we are heavily part of the health system and it continues.” ([23:29])
• On justice:
  “Injustice for one is like injustice for all.” ([24:41])

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Important Timestamps

• [01:15] Preparing for the Blue Note & jazz influences
• [05:50] Reflections on performing during 9/11 anniversary
• [07:00] Live performance – “Take the A Train”
• [09:39] Mother’s advice about the guitar
• [11:40] Wyclef’s AI consulting at Google DeepMind
• [14:38] “I am the master of AI. AI is not the master of I.”
• [15:23] Return to rapping with “Back from Abu Dhabi”
• [18:50] Meaning behind “Distance”
• [21:05] Lauryn Hill joins Wyclef on stage in the UK
• [23:13] Wyclef on Haitian impact in America
• [24:41] Quoting Martin Luther King on injustice

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Tone & Style

The episode maintains a vibrant, humorous, and insightful tone, true to Wyclef’s effortless storytelling and Alison Stewart’s warm, curious interviewing style. Wyclef moves fluidly between lighthearted anecdotes, deeper reflections, and occasional live performances, all while infusing the conversation with an unmistakable sense of New York pride and cultural fusion.

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Summary Useful For:

• Fans of Wyclef Jean and the Fugees
• Listeners interested in the interplay between jazz, hip hop, and Caribbean influences
• Anyone curious about the creative process, technology in music, and cultural identity
• Those seeking inspiration from stories of resilience, innovation, and artistic community

Transcript

[Interviewer]

You are used to seeing Wyclef Jean playing arena shows in front of big crowds, either with the Fugees or as a solo act. But for the next few days, Wyclef is performing at the storied Blue Note Jazz Club in the heart of the Village. A rare chance to hear his music in an intimate setting. Anytime Wyclef plays in New York, it's special. Given his story and his connection to the area, he's a proud member of the strong New York, New Jersey hait. Of course, the story goes, the Fugees were founded in Jersey in the 1990s, and you know the rest. Grammy Awards, platinum records. Coupled with his own activism, Wyclef John will be playing two shows a night at the Blue Notes starting tomorrow through September 14th. Some have already sold out, but there are tickets left, and Wyclef joins me now in studio. It is very nice to see you.

[Wyclef Jean]

What up?

[Interviewer]

It's really nice to see you.

[Wyclef Jean]

I love that intro.

[Interviewer]

I like the way you're dressed, sir.

[Wyclef Jean]

Thank you. Thank you. It's the swag. Is Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, all right, Mixed with South Orange Avenue, Newark, New Jersey. You put the two together, you get that fly fashion.

[Interviewer]

Totally, totally fly fashion. Just gonna take it in. Just gonna take it in, and then I'm gonna move it on. You're playing the Blue Notes starting tomorrow. How are you preparing to take your music to a more intimate space?

[Wyclef Jean]

All right, so thank you again for everybody listening Wyclef Jean, not Wyclef Jean. So for me, this is exciting. So I have a very strong catalog. Every week, someone samples the Wyclef music catalog. So my first of all, my mentor is Quincy Jones. Quincy Jones is the first person who brought me to the jazz festival in Montrose. So, okay, so started off with the Fugees, but before that, me and Lauren. Ms. Hill did the first off Broadway hip hop musical inspired by the Twelfth Night, inspired by Shakespeare. It's called the Twelfth Night. Now, why is this important? Because 25 years later, they do Hamilton. So there's an article about how we as kids was doing this. So I've always been ahead 20 years of what's going on. So in modern day, whether if it's hips don't lie. Shakira. Maria. Maria. Someone please call 911. My loves, you love Whitney. I write the most insane songs, but how do I write it? So the secret of W clef is I'm from the school of Jazz. So in high school, I went to Velsburg High School in Newark, New Jersey. My. My teacher, her name was Valerie Price. I. I fell in love with two, well, three composers. Gershwin being one, Quincy Jones being insanely amazing. And I fell away in love with Cap Calloway. Cap Calloway, because of the way, like, he would conduct the orchestra and entertain at the same time. So in saying that, what you're going to get at the Blue Note is you're going to get like that Wyclef at 15. So literally, you get to see. Oh, now I understand. You know what I'm saying? The instrumentalist. How is he able to play all of these instruments? You know, you get to see me play upright bass. You get to see me play Fender Rhodes. You get to see me play B3, you get to see me play piano. So then it will all make sense to you, like, who. Why Clef Jean is and why do I got that clef in my name?

[Interviewer]

Do you remember what was the first time you heard about the Blue Note?

[Wyclef Jean]

Of course. Like, so what's interesting is I'm the first rapper ever to play Carnegie hall with a full orchestra, sheet music, conducting it. So I'm from. There's no, like, I'm from the school of the schools. So. So the Blue Note is some. Is a place that you can't be. I can't tell you that. My mentor, one of my mentors with Quincy Jones and I don't know about the Blue Note. So not only have I heard about the Blue Note, I've always imagined playing at the Blue Note, and I've always imagined what a set would be for me, right? So what's important to me is coming from the Americas, which is the Caribbean and Haiti, Cuba, Santa Domingo, Puerto Rico, Jamaica. And I could keep going, but then we land in New York City, right? So can you imagine? So my first. I land in New York City and the first thing I see is the Twin Towers. I'm barely like 8 years old, so this is my first vision of the City of Lights. So, like, in saying that inside of New York, where we would. We would leave Jersey and come to New York every week, because this is. This was the vibe. There's just places that you would always hear about. And the Blue Note is just one of those, like, legendary places. So as a composer, you always say, man, I wonder what my set would feel like at the Blue Note, to combine the energy of the Americas and coming to America. And then. Because what happens is. So when we rock the Blue Note, it's no borders, you dig? Like, everything is just a unified. It reminds US of, like, why America is America. It's like you put that Rocco Pollo, you put that Julie saucepan, you put all of it together, and then. Oh, then we went, okay, yeah. These United States of America. Yeah. New York City, the Big Apple. You make it in New York, you can make it anywhere.

[Interviewer]

You brought up the Twin Towers. You're starting tomorrow, which is September 11th. Are you thinking about that at all, or is this just going to be a night where people can go and forget the rest of the world?

[Wyclef Jean]

So everyone who's listening, I want y' all to go listen to a song. It's called Heavens in New York, which, again, so for me, as a writer, as we go through events, we constantly write about them. So when you listen to Heaven in New York, it'll definitely give you the vibe. But I think that triumph is the word that I'll use. Defiant ones, you know, conqueror. So celebration. So for me, it's. It's a celebration. It's not a defeat. So when we.

[Interviewer]

Celebration of the New York of.

[Wyclef Jean]

Well, we. We honor y'. All. So it's like, despite what happened, we still resilient, we still strong. So we celebrate life and all those that we've lost, you know, we know that they're in a good place.

[Interviewer]

I'm speaking with artist Wyclef Jean. He's performing two shows a night at the Blue Note starting tomorrow through September 14th. You mention that jazz band that you were in at Valkyr High School.

[Wyclef Jean]

Not only was I in a jazz band, I was a jazz prodigy, and I was the leader of the jazz band.

[Interviewer]

All right.

[Wyclef Jean]

You know, so this is how I came up. You know what I mean? So let me see if I could hear a little vibe. You must take the A train to go to Sugar Hill way up in Harlem. If you miss the A train, you miss the quickest way to get to Harlem. See, you know that one?

[Interviewer]

I do, yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

And I could go endless and endless. Yeah. So I'm. I'm really from that school.

[Interviewer]

Do you go down rabbit holes? I did that last night. I went down an Aretha, and then I went down an Etta James, and then I went down a Duke Ellington rabbit hole on. On YouTube just for no reason.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah, no, I constantly go. I constantly go on rabbit holes. That's how I, like, tune my ear. It's, like, very important because for me, like you do, popular music is like. Like, the records that I be breaking and that I've breaking on the charts are just insane. With all of these hit songs that I get tired of hearing them, you know what I mean? And then what I always love to do is go deep in a rabbit hole. One of my favorite is Miles Davis, like Bitches Brew. That always tunes my ear, like, over and over again. Another one of my heroes is Thelonious Monk. You know, I love Thelonious because he just defies everything and he lives, like, in the space in the middle. Like, I think Thelonious is probably why I was so bold to genre bend at a very young age. So can you imagine? So I did not only the score, but in the album the Carnival that came after the score. I had, like Celia Cruz, the philharmonic orchestra, compa rhythms, hip hop rhythms, Bee Gees, all of that. Because a lot of times when people hear jazz and jazz fusion. Jazz fusion is just an eclectic, like, putting it all together and like, making it feel good. That's one thing.

[Interviewer]

Guitar is an important part of your life. When did you first pick up a guitar?

[Wyclef Jean]

Well, I got the guitar. My mama got me a guitar when I was in the projects because I have a lot of, you know, friends, family members. You know, it was rough in the beginning, and we didn't know what the direction was going to be, you know, so talking about, like, from guns to cousins getting murdered in front of, you know, to having, you know, constantly walk around with a ratchet. And my mom was like, yo, you can get more, like, you could accomplish more with a guitar than you can with a gun. I always remember those words.

[Interviewer]

She's a wise woman.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. So I cherish. It was just the energy of putting your cause. What happens is if a child don't have nothing to do in these rural areas, they're gonna get in trouble. So the idea is to get them to focus on something, whether if it's science, whether if it's music, whether if it's playing ball, get them to focus on something. That's what my mama did for me.

[Interviewer]

When did you realize I'm good at playing guitar?

[Wyclef Jean]

I'm still not good.

[Interviewer]

Oh, come on. I've heard.

[Wyclef Jean]

I try to play guitar, but, you know, I call. I have a rare title for myself. I call myself a hip hop guitarist.

[Interviewer]

Hip hop guitarist, okay.

[Wyclef Jean]

And people be like, well, what's that clef? What does that even mean? Right? Because you have a jazz guitarist you like, you know, you say, okay, he's a blues guitarist, He's a rocker. What is a hip hop guitar? So hip hop guitarist is basically a guitarist that's plays from a space of eclectic. Like, the idea of, like, you Fuse the jazz. But a hip hop guitarist can literally take a Thelonious Monk and combine it with a Run dmc, right? You could take a Mob Deep and combine it with a train, like in your head, like these scales. So because. Because a lot of people, when you hear the word hip hop, you know which. Which is like our culture, like just saying the word culture, right? It's putting people together. So what I do is I put scales together, like, what you expecting not to work. I genre bend it and I make it work on the scales.

[Interviewer]

There's so much technology involved in the music business now. Some of it good, some of it's not so good. What part about it feels real positive to you and then one part of it makes you feel negative?

[Wyclef Jean]

Well, music is actually my second job. My first job is I'm an engineer by trade. So all of the records we talked about, I was actually the ones engineering them. So currently, right now I'm a consultant for Google DeepMind, which is one of the highest divisions of Google. And so what it is is when I teach students about AI, the first slogan I teach them is, I am the master of AI. AI is not the master of I. This is the first thing I teach them. And then we go into what's called machine learning. And the idea is like, for the AI to understand it and compute the math, it has to have been done already. So based off of that, then that theory could be challenged. Now you say, but hold up, the math could be so infinite now. Like, where do we go? Right? And this is where I tell the students. You go right back to the beginning. What the AI do not have is a soul. And the AI don't have creativity. So until they create a human AI, like, where it's like completely human and you feel that soul. I'm counting on the new generation to constantly do these reinventions. Yesterday there's a new app that we opened called Open Wave. And this app is, like, for artists where they literally can sell merch and do different things because the industry's change, even making no money on streaming, they could upload their music. One, one girl, her name is Rick Jane, she starts off playing trumpet. So she's like, ba, ba, ba, ba. And she's playing the craziest riffs on trumpet. Next thing you know, she puts the trumpet down and starts to rap. Like some mixture of, like, Lauryn Hill mixed with Dochi, and then picks back up the trumpet and continues the scales. Ain't no AI gonna do that. So what I tell you is like it's you. We're at the space where you have to be the most creative. And the people that fear AI, right? Because with every good part, there's always a bad part, right? Where you're going to have scammers, you're going to have, like, people stealing your music, taking your ideas and doing that. But I do believe that the good will overrule that. But what do we need? I think, like, in policy, in the space of policy, we need more situations to make sure that artists copyrights are definitely protected. That's the number one thing. Because when you have something where you literally could put something in a computer and it machine learns it and it copies it, I think you should come up with more back data and with more coding. Again, that polices that sort of, like, information.

[Interviewer]

One thing I'm hearing you say is that creative people should use AI. They shouldn't be frightened of AI.

[Wyclef Jean]

I am the master of AI. AI is not the master of I. Look, if you suck as a writer, you just suck as a writer. You need Chad GPT. But the writers I know that are amazing writers. They write an amazing, you know, novel. And then there's probably three or four words they say to chat GPT. Can you adjust this right? Because it's all machine learning. Trust me when I tell y' all that I battle chat GPT and rap every day, every morning, and it can't take me out. So trust me, man, they got a lot of catching up to do with the human.

[Interviewer]

We're talking to Wyclef Jean. He's performing at the Blue Note starting tomorrow. All right, you have a new song, Back from Abu Dhabi.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah, Back from Abu Dhabi. Dave Chappelle does the intro, and then I start it's with featuring Rick Ross and French Montana. Now, the idea of saying back from Abu Dhabi, it's literally versus me saying, like, I'm back, right? Because everyone has a yes. And I did go to Abu Dhabi, and I did come back many times. But the idea of this song is to let everyone know that I'm back in the sense of going back to my roots in the underground of where I started in this industry, which was hip hop. So remember, I haven't rapped in like 15 years. Like, when I say rap, properly, rap. So this. This is like the first song where I'm completely rhyming. I did the beat and it's like saying, like, okay, I'm back in this headspace. So. So in doing that, y' all gonna dig it.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, let's listen.

[Wyclef Jean]

Back From Abu Dhabi Back, back from Abu Dhabi Look, I'm back from Abu Dhabi with Chappelle at the firehouse Ice on my neck but the Haitians still showed out From LA to LA in the New York state of mind God, son illmatic memorizing the lines Sound clash like the UK Cup Spice army I got ties with you Make a light Bob Marley Back from November New perspective Big John said like hov, finish your breakfast Back for my Buddha Back, back from my Back, back from my Be back back from my.

[Interviewer]

Now that is in my head for the rest of the day that is what they call an ear worm.

[Wyclef Jean]

From. From Elaine, you know to LA in the New York state of mind God, son illmatic memorizing the line so it's literally. It don't matter what part of the world I go to, I'm always in that New York state of mind.

[Interviewer]

I have to ask. So the video.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah, the video is gonna be insane. It's directed by Tasha Smith.

[Interviewer]

Amazing little MMA fighting going on.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. Oh, those are, like, what we do. I love this generation. Literally, I love fighting as a sport. Not, like. So clear that up. Clear that up as a sport. So what I love about the technology, being that I'm a geek, too, is, like, the way that I promote music. I would take, like, the first 30 seconds, then if I'm in the gym doing some fighting, I would put that against that. So I have a lot of different. And what you seeing is, like, real. So that was like, yo, this is, like, real, like, meaning, like, in, like, when I'm in the gym, like, I really get down like that. So I don't want people to think, like, oh, he has some AI. And then that's, you know, you catch me in the street.

[Interviewer]

Did you do your thing?

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. And then you catch me in the street. And then sadly, I'm just gonna have to take you down, you know? So I'm like, pre warning you, as.

[Interviewer]

You said, you haven't rapped in a long time.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah, but how I sound, though? How I sound?

[Interviewer]

You sounded jet.

[Wyclef Jean]

It's like riding a bike. You know what I mean? That's what we do.

[Interviewer]

What made you head back to rapping?

[Wyclef Jean]

Take it back to the roots? Because I gotta talk. There's certain things that I want to say that through rhyme and through poetry is like, how I could say it. I didn't want, like, the fork, you know, because, you know, I'm coming back from, like, hips don't lie and all of these, like, records that break. And then so it's like, but where is this guy from? You know, we from. We from that local project and through hip hop is how we got to where we got to. So that's why, you know, we took it back to the roots.

[Interviewer]

I want to play another song. This is a song that you shared during the pandemic. It was called Distance. What were you trying to say with the song?

[Wyclef Jean]

Well, Distance was a song like, literally, like, no matter, like, where you at or where I'm at, just because we can't touch each other, we can't feel each other and. But like, if you just close your eyes, like, you'll find me. So it was like a way of just saying, like, it's bigger than the fact that we can't get to each other right now. If you close your eyes and you meditate real hard and you hold my hand, I'm gonna hold yours.

[Interviewer]

Let's listen to Distance.

[Wyclef Jean]

Even with the distance I feel so near. Even with the separation of space? You'll be right here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dress like fashion week Got nowhere to go, nowhere's in my closet. Internet's to show heroes on the front line working overtime. Courage over fear when they cross that line, who's to say it is not in the time like this that we've been chosen to get closer to one another? Even with the distance. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel so deep. Even with the separation. You'll be right here.

[Interviewer]

My guest in studio is Wyclef Jean. You performed in the UK recently during.

[Wyclef Jean]

Did my first headline show in 15 years in the UK. Sold that out during Carnival. During Carnival. It was crazy. You know, they called me the Haitian Jimi Hendrix out there. You know what I'm saying?

[Interviewer]

Miz Hill came out for a special performance.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah, and that's my sis. That's the family. We click back up. Heavy. And it was crazy. Cause you know, when I do shows, I don't say who's coming, who gonna be. And out of nowhere, you know how many mics come on and Ms. Hill walks out there and the place just goes blizzy. Grizzly. Translation, neurotic.

[Interviewer]

What does it remind you of when she steps on stage? When you collaborate together, when you play together, what are you reminded of?

[Wyclef Jean]

Like, don't get mad. New York City, early Lakers, you know, it's like. It's just. Don't get mad in New York. Don't get mad at me. Don't. Don't hold this against me. You know, I love the Knicks guys. I love the Knicks so much. If y' all Listen to the carnival. I say, well, the Knicks win the championship this year, anything can happen. Y' all know, y' all know what I'm saying? But early Lakers, it's just like when we, like, we don't have to say anything. Like when we on that court, you know, it's like, it's just magic. I don't have to look at her to throw her the ball. She don't have to look at me. I see when the three is coming. I know already to be in the paint to grab it, you know what I mean? And again, it's a long time relationship. It goes like way back. Way before the Fugees. We was talking earlier about the fact that our first off Broadway musical was like Club 12 in New York City. This is like years before the score. I think she was like 13 and I was like 16 or 17. So we go way, way back.

[Interviewer]

All right, can I ask a serious question about immigration?

[Wyclef Jean]

Well, the good thing is, you know, the good thing is my uncle, his name is Raymond Joseph and half of my brain is music, the other half is poli size.

[Interviewer]

So go ahead and shoot.

[Wyclef Jean]

All right, no problem.

[Interviewer]

American's Haitian immigration population has been threatened by federal government. A judge overruled the President's order ending temporary legal protections for Haitians. I want to know what your message is to people when it comes to understanding the contributions of Haitians, the American diaspora, the Haitian diaspora to America. I should say.

[Wyclef Jean]

Well, I think that let's just earlier, you know, I choose my words carefully. This is why I said the Americas. I was like, let's talk about like, because, because it's important to understand, like geographically, like where we at and what's going on, right? And then it's important to understand. So why should America care about the Americas? Right? Like, so there's like some cool fun facts. I always like to say. So let's talk about one. So Louisiana Purchase. So you go ahead and do the history. So the Haitians contributed to Louisiana Purchase. And this is just one fun fact. And there's so many. And at the end of the day, here's another fact which is so important. If y' all look at this, if y' all check here, within these United States of America, have y' all ever checked the medical field to see how many Haitian doctors, they are, like I'm saying a huge percentage. Like, so at the end of the day, right, we are heavily part of the health system and it continues. The other thing I'm going to say is, statistically, have you ever, like, really checked. Hang around Haitians. Like, these are the warmest, the kindest, the most hearted. You know, I mean, starting with W clef Sean, you know what I'm saying to you? So at the end of the day, I'll end with one of my heroes, right, which is Martin Luther King. And I always like to remix the speeches, right? So, but remember, right, injustice for one is like injustice for all. So at the end of the day, if something don't feel normal, we all have to talk about it. Because if we don't, then what happens is we get caught in this cycle where it becomes normality. You know what I mean? So, like, in saying that, you know, I think that the Haitians have contributed a lot to this country and I think should be heavily respected.

[Interviewer]

Wycliffe Jean is playing at the Blue Note starting tomorrow through September 14th. It was a pleasure to have you.

[Wyclef Jean]

Pleasure is all mine. I'm gonna see y' all at the Blue Note. Come check your boy.

[Interviewer]

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