WYCLEF JEAN Talks Haiti, New Music, Legacy

Summary

The Adam Friedland Show: WYCLEF JEAN Talks Haiti, New Music, Legacy

Date: April 2, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Adam Friedland Show features legendary musician, producer, and activist Wyclef Jean. With live performance snippets, deep discussion about his career, the legacy of the Fugees, the history, politics, and ongoing crisis in Haiti, as well as his ambitious upcoming projects, the episode offers an engaging, personal, and illuminating look at Wyclef's unique perspective and experiences. Wyclef dives into his early years as an immigrant, his influences, and his hopes for Haiti and the future of music, all delivered in his vibrant, philosophical, and thoughtful style.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Live Freestyle & Music Performance

• The episode opens with Wyclef and another rapper freestyling, referencing his classic hits ("Maria Maria", "Ready or Not", "Ooh La La La") and celebrating his legacy.
• Notable Quote:
  "I got seven albums coming out, one a month starting in April... Country, hip hop, reggae, let's end on some world type vibe. Y' all feel me?"
  — Wyclef Jean [01:34]

2. Early Life, Immigration & Cultural Integration

• Wyclef recounts his arrival in the U.S. from Haiti at age 7 or 8 and his early days in Brooklyn's Marlboro Projects.
• He describes how battle rap served as a form of conflict resolution and creative outlet for immigrants, likening it to breakdancing or graffiti as ways to claim space and prove oneself.
• Notable Quote:
  "Coney Island battle rap was just... an avenue where you didn't have to slap box as much. You would use lyrics. Let's do the fade—but we gonna do the fade lyrically."
  — Wyclef Jean [06:34]

3. Haiti: History, Legacy & Modern Struggles

• Wyclef passionately details Haiti’s revolutionary history as the first Black republic (1804), its outsized influence on world events (including the Louisiana Purchase), and its underacknowledged global role.

• Political and Economic Challenges

  • He outlines how Haiti had to pay a massive debt to France for its independence and how historic and ongoing foreign interference (especially post-earthquake) undermines Haiti’s self-determination and prosperity.
  • Emphasizes the need for policies focused on improving Haitian lives, not serving foreign or private interests.

• Notable Quote:
  "Haiti, being that it got its independence, had to pay over a billion dollars to France... can you imagine? Haiti was number one for trade... known for sugar and cocoa."
  — Wyclef Jean [08:33]

  "80% of the country is living on less than a dollar. You have 12 million people. How do we put 6 million kids back to school and work?... Haiti can't be a playground for one party."
  — Wyclef Jean [27:32]

4. Musical Influences & Collaborations

• Wyclef discusses his top rappers and musical idols, from classic battle MCs to Lauryn Hill ("El Boogie"), Lil Wayne, and Rakim.

• Describes the magic of working with artists across genres, citing Bob Dylan’s surprise cameo in the "Gone Till November" video and his genre-spanning collaborations.

• Notable Quote:
  "When it comes to the women, I ain't being biased, but ain't no woman on the planet that could touch El Boogie... Lauryn Hill, period."
  — Wyclef Jean [14:09]

  "Lil Wayne is in a category all by himself, like it don't exist. It's like saying Jimi Hendrix... that dude is on his own planet."
  — Wyclef Jean [13:38]

  "Shout out to Thugga [Young Thug]... reminds me of modern day Bob Dylan."
  — Wyclef Jean [15:21]

5. Stories Behind the Songs

• Shares behind-the-scenes stories about producing iconic tracks and albums.

• "Hips Don’t Lie" was originally made for a movie years before its release with Shakira.

• The process of making the Fugees’ "The Score" in the booger basement, and how their creative environment shaped the album.

• Notable Quote:
  "Hips Don't Lie was done two years before y' all heard Hipstone Lie... for a movie called Havana Nights, Dirty Dancing 2."
  — Wyclef Jean [31:52]

  "Carnival… defied what they said hip hop was. 25 tracks. I had over 20 different rhythms. Do you know what Carnival is? It's a playlist today... Bad Bunny, Jay Z, 50 Cent."
  — Wyclef Jean [34:30]

6. On Fame, Service, and Legacy

• Wyclef reflects on his status as perhaps the most famous Haitian, but says he doesn’t feel the weight; he stays focused on helping, being present, and building Haiti’s future.

• Recalls his upbringing in the church, the lessons learned from his parents, and the sense of artistic mission to raise consciousness, not just win awards.

• Notable Quote:
  "Whether I'm accomplished, you're accomplished, or whether you're accomplished, I'm not, the air that we breathing? It's the same, bro... we go to the same dirt, my brother."
  — Wyclef Jean [33:29]

  "When you come to my show, I'm gonna give you—remember like Prince, 1999. I'm gonna treat every day like it's 1999... I'm celebrating life."
  — Wyclef Jean [37:10]

7. The Fugees: Past, Present, & Possible Future

• Discusses his relationship with Lauryn Hill, performing together again, and the unique connection they share.
• Leaves the door open for more collaboration, sensing "magic in the air".
• Notable Quote:
  "The greatest ambition that's there is, like, I got my sister back... that magic that we have... I'm content now. What that lies in the universe is the most amazing thing, right? Because none of us know what's gonna happen. But I can tell you what I feel, though. Magic's in the air."
  — Wyclef Jean [39:41]

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Memorable Moments & Quotes (with Timestamps)

• On battle rap & childhood:
  "Not battle rapping. I was 12... battle rap was a way you didn't have to, like, slap box as much." — Wyclef Jean [06:17]

• On Haiti's under-acknowledged role in American history:
  "Chicago. Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable, the founder of Chicago, is Haitian." — Wyclef Jean [09:51]

• On adapting and thriving after immigration:
  "I looked at my brother, and I was like, yo, you must have found your city, Acid, dude. We in the city of diamonds." — Wyclef Jean [22:50]

• On artistry and spiritual mission:
  "The church. I can't even, like, take no credit for that, really. They throw me into church at 12 years old and you got to go with it..." — Wyclef Jean [35:01]

• On not caring about awards:
  "When you look at Bob Marley, he don't have one Grammy... I got the assignment, right? And my assignment is to raise the higher consciousness of the human race." — Wyclef Jean [37:57]

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Important Segments (Timestamps)

• Live freestyles & music tributes: [00:01–05:26]
• Early years, immigration & battle rap: [05:29–08:01]
• Haiti's independence, challenges, and legacy: [08:01–11:07]
• Rap influences & Lauryn Hill tribute: [11:15–14:43]
• Collaborations: Bob Dylan, Young Thug, etc.: [15:11–23:11]
• Haiti's current crisis, NGOs, and forward-thinking: [25:05–29:35]
• Making seven new albums, music as a bridge across generations: [28:16–29:17]
• The making of “The Score” and “Carnival”: [29:35–35:00]
• Musical growth and mission statement: [35:00–37:11]
• Reunion with Lauryn Hill & reflections on the Fugees: [39:26–40:43]

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Tone and Style

Wyclef’s tone throughout is upbeat, philosophical, rooted in gratitude but also in realism. He is as candid about the struggles of Haiti and the music industry as he is effusive about creative joy and collaboration. Adam and his co-hosts bring a casual, humorous energy that complements Wyclef’s wisdom and generosity, creating an atmosphere that’s both insightful and celebratory.

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For Listeners Who Haven't Tuned In

If you’re a fan of hip hop, world music, or global politics—or if you just want to hear one of pop culture’s true bridge-builders reflect on legacy, hope, and his next creative era—this episode is essential. Wyclef is equal parts griot, mentor, and entertainer, making the discussion both educational and electrifying.

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Summary Table

| Segment | Timestamps | Highlights | |--------------------------|----------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Opening Freestyles | 00:01–05:26 | Classic Fugees lines, new music announcement, celebratory vibe | | Immigration & Battle Rap | 05:29–08:01 | Early days in Brooklyn, cultural integration via music | | Haiti: History & Crisis | 08:01–11:07 | Political economy, legacy of independence, Haiti’s role in American history | | Musical Influences | 11:15–14:43 | Top five rappers, Lauryn Hill, Lil Wayne, genre crossovers | | Collaborations Stories | 15:11–23:11 | Bob Dylan, Young Thug, a behind-the-scenes look at musical friendships | | Haiti Today & Activism | 25:05–29:35 | Critique of foreign aid, vision for Haiti’s future, need for grassroots leadership | | Musical Innovation | 28:16–29:17 | Seven new albums, bridging generations, ongoing evolution | | Classic Albums | 29:35–35:00 | The Score, Carnival, song genesis stories | | Artistry & Legacy | 35:00–37:11 | The role of the artist, spiritual motivation, quest for meaning over trophies | | Fugees, Family, Future | 39:26–40:43 | Relationship with Lauryn Hill, the enduring allure of the group’s chemistry |

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Notable Quotes Recap

• "I got the assignment, right? And my assignment is to raise the higher consciousness of the human race." [37:57]
• "The dirt. We go to the same dirt, my brother... respect is respect, you dig?" [33:29]
• "Magic's in the air." [39:41]

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Listen if you want:

• Musical storytelling with spirit and humor
• Insight into Haiti’s history and modern struggles
• Reflections on hip hop, activism, artistic legacy
• Honest, warm, and hopeful conversation with one of music’s most unique voices

Transcript

[Wyclef Jean]

Okay, this is the original.

[Guest Performer / Rapper]

No carbon copy. Ladies and gentlemen, before the AI it was I

[Wyclef Jean]

I A intelligent alpha.

[Guest Performer / Rapper]

Maria Maria ye high she remind me of a West side Story Growing up in Spanish Harlem. Yeah. She living life just like a movie star. Yeah. Maria Maria High. She fell in love in Easter day. Yeah. To the sound of the guitar. Yeah. Let's go. Y' all play by Carlos.

[Wyclef Jean]

Hey,

[Guest Performer / Rapper]

Ready and I, here I come. You can't hide. Shout out to the fugees, I'm gonna.

[Wyclef Jean]

Y' all know what this is. Sing along.

[Guest Performer / Rapper]

Everybody like Ready and I, here I come. You can't hide. Yeah, I'm gonna forge you.

[Wyclef Jean]

Hey, yo, yo, yo. Now that I escaped Sl sheep walk away. Those who convulate know the world ain't cake. Jail bars ain't golden gates. Those who fake, they break when they meet their 400 pound made. If I could rule the world Everyone will have a gun in the ghetto of course Swinky D up and on they horse, yo. I kick around drinking moonshine I pour a sip on the concrete. But the deceased with no don't weep while Clef's in the state of sleep.

[Guest Performer / Rapper]

Thinking about the robbery that I did last week.

[Wyclef Jean]

Money on the bag make her look like a drag. What you smoking on? What you smoking on, man? Ooh la la la. It's the way that we rock when we're doing our thing. Ooh la la la. It's the natural vibe that the refugees bring. Ooh la la la la la la la la la la la. I go by the name of Wyclepshunt. I got seven albums coming out, one a month starting in April until you feel me. Country, hip hop, reggae, let's end on some world type vibe. Y' all feel me? Like.

[Guest Performer / Rapper]

From the virgin despair my hand was based on. By the end of the Almighty we struggle in this generation triumphantly.

[Wyclef Jean]

Africa,

[Guest Performer / Rapper]

Middle East, Europe, the Americas. America, won't you help me sing Another song of freedom was all I ever heard. Redemption shun Chang. Redemption shun Emancipation from mental slavery. Not but ourselves can free our minds. Have no fear for atomic energy. For none of them can stop at the time. How long will it kill our profit while we stand aside and look? Some say it's just a part of it. You've got to fulfill the boat. Asia, Middle East, Africa, the Americas, the entire world. Lord, won't you help me sing it? I'm not that strong of freedom. Cause all I ever had Redemption shown.

[Wyclef Jean]

Wow. Clap, baby.

[Guest Performer / Rapper]

Sam.

[Wyclef Jean]

Oh, you caught the bars, bro. If he missed, you miss Those bars.

[Interviewer / Host]

He's not gonna run it again?

[Wyclef Jean]

No. There's new bars every day. There's a new bar that was like.

[Sponsor / Announcer]

That was like a.

[Interviewer / Host]

You know, like a big L. Like, did the whole Alphabet. You did num. The numerical.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah, I'm from. I'm from. You know, battle rap was part of my, like, natural come up. You know what I mean? Being in the projects, that was sort of, like I always said, being like, the oldest. So sort of like, you mess with my sister or brother, they're like, I'm gonna get my big brother, you know? And I would show up, and I. I've only. I only weighed, like, a buck, like 10. You feel what I'm saying to you? So what.

[Interviewer / Host]

How old were you, like, when you started?

[Wyclef Jean]

Like, when I started rapping.

[Interviewer / Host]

Well, battling battle rapping or both.

[Wyclef Jean]

Not battle rapping. I was 12.

[Interviewer / Host]

You're 12?

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. Because I came from Haiti when I was, like, seven, eight.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

And then I landed in Marlboro projects. So Marlboro Projects, you know, getting into a lot of fight. Coney island battle rap was just, like. It was just an avenue where you didn't have to, like, slap box as much.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

Get into a lot of altercations. So you would use. It was like breakdancing, or if you was doing graffiti, this would be like, your way of, like, you know, like, let, Let. Let's. Let's. Let's do the fade. But we gonna do the fade. Lyrically, you feel me as, like, an

[Interviewer / Host]

immigrant and like a refugee. Of course. Did it feel like you were integrating culturally and then you were, like, kind of like getting the mean kids off your back a little bit?

[Wyclef Jean]

Well, the thing is, remember on the album the Score, if you go back and you listen, there's a line I always say, Haitian, Sicilian in the score. Like, you'd be like, whoa, I don't get it. Hades, Italy. Like, where's the connection? I grew up in Marlboro Projects. Feel what I'm saying? So that. That growing up in an area and just understanding that we always. Immigrants. You feel what I'm saying, too? So whether if you was Italian you, Haitian you, Irish you, it's like, at the end of the day, this is like the city of immigrants, right? So coming from the city of immigrants, you're gonna find certain passions that you just used to. So I have family members that was more into, like, the gang culture. I had some that they were into sports. You feel me? And, like, every, like, literally, we all trying to find an avenue. You feel me? And so my avenue was music.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah. Like, what was, like, the most shocking? Because obviously you're from. You're from Haiti. We should back straight up. Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

The Americas.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

I always say, like, Haiti, the Americas. Because sometime in America, you know, I'm saying, like, I think, like, sometime we as Americans.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

Like, you know what I'm saying? Sometime because of the course of history, like, I don't think, like, we understand, like, Haiti's within the Americas.

[Interviewer / Host]

Well, I mean, it's a country that I think isn't thought about enough, maybe, because it is, like. Like, especially currently. Like, it is, like, the. The biggest, like, political crisis probably in its modern history. Am I correct in saying that?

[Wyclef Jean]

100%. But you know why it's not thought about enough. The reason why it's not thought about enough is this right there. So Haiti is the first black republic in the world.

[Interviewer / Host]

Correct.

[Wyclef Jean]

1804.

[Interviewer / Host]

Tucson.

[Wyclef Jean]

Tucson, Louverture. Right. So think about it. So that means, like, in America, when you're running the slave trade, you literally have an island where a bunch of people are completely running the island. And they're free. They're moving around. So they never wanted that connection to happen. So whether if you're looking at Thomas Jefferson or different people, even, like, look at what Frederick Douglass, like, said about Haiti. So at the end of the day, Haiti, being that it got its independence, had to pay over a billion dollars to France. Right.

[Interviewer / Host]

So literally, they had to pay to literally not be made slaves again.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah, like, literally, like Napoleon's like, yo, y' all want me to come back here, blow you up? It's gonna cost y'. All. So in saying that, and can you imagine, like, Haiti was one of the number ones for trade. It was known for, like, sugar and, like, sugar and cocoa. So at the end of the day, I know, like, we think of, like, what happens in Haiti and the idea of, like, reparation, we're screaming like, yo, what does reparation look like? But I want you to, like, even think a step further. What would have happened if those Haitians had connected with the black Americans, for example, in America? I'm just giving you an example. What if the black Americans in America understood that Haiti was part of the Louisiana Purchase and. And strategic in helping that. What? You know, I think, like, all Americans like, watching. Oh, that's really cool. Like, you know, I'm saying the biggest real estate deal happened through Haiti. Now, Chicago. Jean Baptiste Pointe Gi Sable, the founder of Chicago, is Haitian.

[Interviewer / Host]

I mean, you guys bought the Eiffel Tower for France.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. So so the key. Yeah. So at the end of the day, what I'm saying is, like, we're part of it. Right.

[Interviewer / Host]

The one difference that pops up in my mind is that that. That was the first. Oh, I forgot.

[Wyclef Jean]

Okay, I'll keep laughing.

[Sponsor / Announcer]

I want to pay tribute.

[Interviewer / Host]

Anytime we have, like, a goat or a legend, we get them. We get them a little 1942. Also, this is an Adam Free LEGO hat. It's kind of. It's dirty, maybe.

[Wyclef Jean]

Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. I feel it.

[Interviewer / Host]

I feel it.

[Wyclef Jean]

Let me switch up, though. You feel me?

[Interviewer / Host]

Oh, really? It is.

[Sponsor / Announcer]

But an honor.

[Wyclef Jean]

It is.

[Sponsor / Announcer]

Give it up for that.

[Wyclef Jean]

Give it up for that

[Interviewer / Host]

merchandise.

[Wyclef Jean]

We gotta switch up, man.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, do a little. We'll do a little.

[Wyclef Jean]

You don't give a rapper a drink and he don't.

[Interviewer / Host]

I gave. I gave Jadakiss the. The same otter, but he didn't get a hat.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. I love Jadakiss.

[Interviewer / Host]

He's the one. Kind of. He's kind of the one.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. Yeah. Jada is, man.

[Interviewer / Host]

It's a corny question, but, like, who would you conceive of as your top top five?

[Wyclef Jean]

Well, I think that top five for me, it depends, right? Because at the end of the day, people be like, yo, Clef. I wanted to be, like, top five composer of the world.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

Like Quincy Jones, Gershwin or whatever. When it comes to rhyming as a. As a composer, I love, like, raw rap, you know, I'm saying to you, so I could just tell you, like, one of my favorite rappers of all time, his name is Coogee Rap. So people should definitely look at that. That's like, one of my top five of all time. Another one. That's my top five of all time. I was in video when I was 18 years old.

[Interviewer / Host]

Rakim.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. That's. You get what I'm saying?

[Interviewer / Host]

You played bass.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. Now another one, Big L. Why Big L? Because there was a show called Stretching Barbito. Like, so that was the.

[Interviewer / Host]

That was, like, at Columbia, right? It was like a college radio show.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. So it was like, we always coming up. And Nas, right? Nas is one of my. Because this is like. I'm telling you this, because so the lens that I see it from is a different lens than y' all see it from. The lens that I see it from. I'm like, 18, 19, and I'm going to a show called, like, Stretching Barbito.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

You know what I'm saying? Like, where college radio was, the underground, and that's what was killing it. So Then when you hear somebody like Big L. So you have many that came up. Another one of my favorites of all time. I can't really say five. Like, you know, I love him and there's a good question, and I think

[Interviewer / Host]

he's very good at rap.

[Wyclef Jean]

Biggie Smalls?

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, he's very good at rap, you

[Wyclef Jean]

know, and Tupac is my. My go to when it comes to the conscious.

[Interviewer / Host]

What about Tunchi? What about Wayne?

[Wyclef Jean]

Wayne to me is bad. No, no, no way. No, no. Wayne to me is genius. He's a genius. And what I mean by that is what?

[Interviewer / Host]

Could I have something?

[Wyclef Jean]

What I mean by that? You're tapping in, so I got you. I got you. I'm Haitian. I got you. Yeah. So when you, when, when you see. When you say people like Wayne to me, you gotta understand. Yeah, no, that's a little baby.

[Interviewer / Host]

That's a lot

[Wyclef Jean]

family. So to my. To my Libra brother, Little Way.

[Interviewer / Host]

What's your go to? Like toast. Tell me.

[Sponsor / Announcer]

Wait, tell me how to say that.

[Interviewer / Host]

Tell me how to say a Haitian toast.

[Wyclef Jean]

Now we ain't gonna. We're just gonna say, you know, yeah, good life, beautiful.

[Interviewer / Host]

Okay.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah, okay. But no, you were saying this Lil Wayne thing, it's important while we talk about culture in modern day time. So for me, Lil Wayne is in a category all by himself, like it don't exist. It's like saying Jimi Hendrix. And I'm saying that because I feel you on that. I've been in the studio with everybody and that dude is on his own planet and on his own time, one of the greatest.

[Interviewer / Host]

He's like on a. In a flow state, from what I understand.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. And when it comes to the women, I ain't being biased, but ain't no woman on the planet that could touch El Boogie.

[Interviewer / Host]

Oh, I thought you were going to say that. Can rap.

[Wyclef Jean]

Ain't no woman that could touch Lauryn Hill from the she's this period. And I ain't being biased, you realize

[Interviewer / Host]

that was a genius. You met her and you were like, this is a genius.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah, so. Yeah. So we met very young and a lot of people talk about fugees, but guess what? The first thing we did, we did an off Broadway play together, Club 12. And what you see was in Sister act before and what you see in Hamilton, like when you go to Broadway. Hamilton.

[Interviewer / Host]

I would never.

[Wyclef Jean]

I would never go, okay, but just say like in Hamilton, they doing rap and they doing all of that. Yeah, man, we was doing that when we was like 12, 13, and people like, literally Flipping Shakespeare in rap form. And it was so ahead of people. And now I guess they. They making money out of it.

[Interviewer / Host]

One of my favorite songs is named after you. It's the Young Thug song Wyclef Shock, which is interesting because you're also. You have a feature on that album, but it's not on Wyclefshire.

[Wyclef Jean]

Kanye West. Yeah, yeah, my feature. I'm Kanye west on the PC. Yeah, yeah. Shout out to Thugga too.

[Interviewer / Host]

He's a genius too. I think that he's got that little magic as well.

[Wyclef Jean]

So Thugga reminds me of modern day Bob Dylan.

[Interviewer / Host]

So cool just to say so. That's what, you know, that's my favorite guy.

[Wyclef Jean]

Well, I mean, that's one of my.

[Interviewer / Host]

We were talking about it on Facebook.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah, that's like, feel me? Like, I had him in the video. You feel me?

[Sponsor / Announcer]

Tell us about.

[Interviewer / Host]

So you obviously played Gone till November, but Bob is in the video at. Just sitting there at lax. Just Bob. So how did that come together?

[Wyclef Jean]

Well, the thing about it is Bob Dylan, I fell in love with just his movement. When I read about like Hurricane, you feel me? That was like, Hurricane was my introduction to Bob Dylan.

[Interviewer / Host]

He says a bad word in that song. Yeah, yeah, but it's fine.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. So Hurricane for a good caus. Yeah, Hurricane was just, you know, a boxer who, you know, unlawfully get hit or whatever. So this the bottom line to it. So I'm doing a record going to November and I have an epiphany and I was like, yo, I need Bob Dylan in the video. And this is how it went down, right? The person I asked, because I ain't gonna even like blow him up right now, but I'm gonna tell you exactly what he said. I was like, yo, you know, I had. You know me. I be. Let me do it. I was, you know, I had my split, right? So Brejon, you know me, I think, you know, for the Gun to November video, I wanna use Bob Dylan.

[Interviewer / Host]

Who'd you. Who was the person?

[Wyclef Jean]

I can't even tell you, but he looked at me.

[Interviewer / Host]

Who's it? Joan Baers.

[Wyclef Jean]

He's looking at me and said, listen, Bob Dylan don't even show up for his own son video. Jacob Dillon, what makes you think he gonna show up for you? And I was like, yo, Dylan gonna show up for me, man. So I called and got on the phone with Dylan. You feel me? And you already know. You know how Bob Dylan is. You know how he talk already. You understand what I'm saying? Dylan's like, okay, I'm going to come lax. And I told everyone, the directors that Dylan is coming. But I think that because. So peep this right. When my daughter was like, at a very young age, I guess she used to have imaginary friends and I would have to go with it, you know. Oh, yeah, yeah. I think that's how they felt when I told them Bob Dylan was coming. Like they were playing me on the set. Like, yeah, sure, he's there, he's coming. Are you talking to him? And here goes the goat, you know what I'm saying? Walking through lax. He comes through. And I was like, literally like, you know, he came and was like, what do you want me to do, my brother? And he was like, you remind me of a bass. A cool. My cool bass player. They used to play with me back in the day. I was like, Mr. Dylan, I just need you to sit right here.

[Interviewer / Host]

Don't do nothing. Wow, that is the craziest cosine. Did he tell you he's a fan?

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah, he loved. He said I remind him of the era, you feel me?

[Interviewer / Host]

Wow.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. And I don't, I believe, like in the universe, like we come back over and over and over again. But I never put an age to a musician. I'll be like, oh, he's boom, boom, boom, boom. Because cool musicians that are like, all about the music and the art.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

Whether if it's country, classical, we all know each other.

[Interviewer / Host]

He's still cool. Yeah, he's still.

[Wyclef Jean]

I mean, come on.

[Interviewer / Host]

Now I see him, he's still playing. I think he's gonna play till he's dead. Like, he's like in his 80s and he looks incredible.

[Wyclef Jean]

That stage is therapy, my bro.

[Interviewer / Host]

He's the best. I feel like when you get to a level like that, like potentially everyone sees you as a genius. So everyone's trying to drop, like the most profound thing they've ever said. And it must be a very lonely thing for him because everyone's like trying to be like, do bars. And then they walk away. They're like, I'm a loser. What was I doing? You know? So it's just what I imagine is like on stage. It's like, he doesn't have to feel like that, you know?

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. I mean, Dylan is just one of the best. Like.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

I mean, even Jimi Hendrix covered Bob Dylan. Like, Dylan's just a man.

[Sponsor / Announcer]

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[Interviewer / Host]

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[Interviewer / Host]

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[Interviewer / Host]

It's good to be right. I want to talk to you about your childhood, though. Like, like, how were you?

[Sponsor / Announcer]

Tell me.

[Interviewer / Host]

Like, I know you have, like, we read your book and like you have all these stories like you fell in poop and you went to school after that and then you, you.

[Wyclef Jean]

You would eat out of everything you would eat.

[Interviewer / Host]

Well, it was a good. It was good.

[Wyclef Jean]

It was good poop, though. Yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

No, it wasn't good poop.

[Wyclef Jean]

I'm just saying, like, you what Slum dog Millionaire.

[Sponsor / Announcer]

What I got is Slumdog Millionaire.

[Interviewer / Host]

That I got was like, we have this notion of Haiti as like this, like, you know, just backwards, like, you know, but like, you. You refer to it as like you kind of missed it. Like, you kind of like enjoyed like your childhood and like.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

Does it feel like you. Your life was saved by going to America?

[Wyclef Jean]

You ever seen City of Gods?

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, of course.

[Wyclef Jean]

All right, so at the end of the day, it's like Duty and the Beast, though.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

Because. Right. You have the most beautiful is beaches.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

You have the most beautiful is things. Right. So the way I got to America, my dad was a missionary. Like, so literally my dad came on a work Visa. When I got to America, bro, what I experienced was the idea at a very young age of what the American dream was.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

Like, because at the end of the day, so when you're young like that, and you're sitting in that village and you're on a donkey, you're like, yo, if only I could get to America. You get what? I was like, I want to live in America. I want to get to America. You know what I'm saying?

[Interviewer / Host]

What was, like, the first thing that blew your mind when you moved to America? Was it like, elevators or, like.

[Wyclef Jean]

I don't know, man. It was, like, from the air. Because remember where I came from? I came from a hut, so I never seen, like, real electricity. So the thing that blew my mind was in the air, yo. And I'm looking down, and we're going over New York. I remember, like, the Twin Towers, right? But then everything, like, bro, the lights, it just. I looked at my brother, and I was like, yo, you must have found your city, Acid, dude. We in the city of diamonds.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

It was definitely a trip.

[Interviewer / Host]

Like you're seeing Avatar or something.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah, straight up, Avatar. It was a complete different world. Can you imagine? I get to the projects and I go to my brother, and the first time we turn a faucet, bro, and water is coming out of it.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

I don't know what that is.

[Interviewer / Host]

You didn't know what a faucet was?

[Wyclef Jean]

Of course not. I get the water from the well,

[Interviewer / Host]

and you're like, this is magic.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah, it all looked like magic. The idea of an oven. The idea of an oven, and then you put it on. So peep this. So the oven gets warm, Right. And I remember, like, in a project at a time where we didn't have no heat, right? And then the heat was coming from the oven. For me, that was just normal.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah. You were like.

[Wyclef Jean]

I guess you're like, I'm the richest guy in the world. Come on, bro. It's like the Jeffersons.

[Interviewer / Host]

I'm the Queen of England now.

[Wyclef Jean]

One extreme to the next.

[Interviewer / Host]

Do you conceive of yourself as the most famous Haitian? You kind of are.

[Sponsor / Announcer]

No.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. On the planet.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah.

[Sponsor / Announcer]

Does that come.

[Interviewer / Host]

Do you feel a sense of, like, responsibility? Is there a weight of, like. Of that being the.

[Wyclef Jean]

I don't even think of it. Like, my brain don't even adjust it. Yeah. It's just at the end of the day, I just do what I got to do, man.

[Interviewer / Host]

What do people, like, not understand about Haiti?

[Wyclef Jean]

I think what they don't Understand about Haiti is every time they hear it's going down in Haiti and you hear all of this bad news.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

Geographically, they don't say where it's going on. So at the end of the day, if you hear it's going down in Port au Prince, right. You could be like, where is it going down? Is it in Kingston? Is it in Montego Bay? Is it? Right. So in Haiti, when they tell you it's going down, it's like one area in Port au Prince, the capital. Right. And then there's an area outside of Port au Prince. Go naive. Other than that, bro, you go to like places in the north, you're gonna find the most amazing blue beads, white sand that you can imagine. So I think like, the PR is terrible because we have to identify Haiti as a full country, not as just a yo. It's going down to Haiti, but where in Haiti is it going down?

[Interviewer / Host]

Correct. Yeah, yeah. Is there conflict inside of you because of like, obviously the United States has had a complicated relationship with Haiti. Like, like for instance, like after the earthquake, right? Like most of the money was funneled to Washington D.C. to NGOs and they, you know, they devastated the agriculture like in New Orleans. Well, they were sending over like American rice. Right. And so rice farmers in Haiti, like lost their farms basically because they weren't investing in infrastructure for the people there. They were basically just paying off American interests and like making money off of the earthquake in your country.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. So the thing is, I'm a modern day Haitian, right? American, right?

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

And what does that mean? That means that I can't look at what was done then. I'm looking at it right now.

[Interviewer / Host]

That's racism though.

[Wyclef Jean]

And then when I look at it right now in Jacmel, I have one of the. I'm watching how these kids are developing AI in the past two years they came, they went to Greece in the world stage, they came in number three. Right. And last year we went to Panama. So what happens is I have to forward think, right. Not forgetting the past. Right. Because I could feel a certain way about the past, but the only way that I'm gonna move things forward, I gotta be present right now, real time, and I gotta be in those rooms that can make a difference for a 12 year old kid.

[Interviewer / Host]

Do you feel like now that you're pro, you're so you're famous person, right? And you're like, well, like you're beloved, Right. Do you feel like because the US government is like, like Bill Clinton like basically made them promise not to make the minimum wage $5 a day. Right. You know, and like, you know, Obama basically, you know, didn't make sure that the money was going to Haitian people. It was going to American NGOs, and it was funneled out. Like, do you. Do you feel like now that you have a profile like that, like, you can lobby or like, you can communicate with the people in power and be like, this is, like, what we need.

[Wyclef Jean]

What I love about what you're saying is you're the new generation. And what I mean by that is people can't bluff y' all because the information is actually there. So as we move forward. Yeah, I count on y' all to have my back.

[Interviewer / Host]

I got your back.

[Wyclef Jean]

At the end of the day, I wanna move forward and see how we get better policies for that country. You know, I'm saying what needs to

[Interviewer / Host]

happen in your estimation.

[Wyclef Jean]

What needs to happen? 80% of the country is living on less than a dollar. Right. You have 12 million people. How do we put 6 million kids back to school and back to work? Right. So in order to do that, we need policies that are towards them. And Haiti can't be a playground for one party. Like, Haiti has to be a bipartisan. Yeah, but we need a president. You haven't had one in nine years. We need someone that's not a puppet.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

Because you have to have someone who understands from, you know, how policies work and someone who just can't be bought by private sector and also can't be bought by lobbyists in dc. You feel me?

[Interviewer / Host]

I mean, it's just fascinating to me, just, like, learning the full history.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah, man.

[Interviewer / Host]

I want to talk about music, though. You're making seven albums. You're locked in.

[Wyclef Jean]

Locked in. Like, 80% is done already. 80% done in the course of five years.

[Interviewer / Host]

Like, you're in. You're.

[Wyclef Jean]

You're 30 years in to your 30 years in career. Yep. And I'm just getting started.

[Interviewer / Host]

You feel like you feel that way? Well, how do you maintain, like, that, like, that motivation?

[Wyclef Jean]

My mentor, Quincy Jones, RIP to him.

[Interviewer / Host]

Wow.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. Yeah. So I feel like I'm in my Thriller years right now. I feel like what I'm about to create and the different artists that I'm gonna work with and the different generations. I feel like I'm in my Thriller years right now. Let's see what happens in the next five years.

[Interviewer / Host]

Well, Thriller is a very diverse album too.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

All the songs, like, kind of like.

[Wyclef Jean]

I just feel like my Thriller years is like, you know, like Quincy Jones when he Hooked up with Michael and there was magic that happened, right? So I felt like Wyclef G Herbo. There's magic happening.

[Interviewer / Host]

That's my, you know,

[Wyclef Jean]

magic happening. You know what I'm saying? Wyclef, Rap City. There's magic happening. What happens when you connect, like, you get what I'm saying? Because this is like, two generations. So when I said the Thriller, the Quincy Jones, I feel like this is like. I feel like I'm a bridge to, like. Because my passion has always been the music man.

[Interviewer / Host]

Right?

[Wyclef Jean]

So I'm a music man.

[Interviewer / Host]

Earlier you said that, like, hip hop for you in your generation was the underground. For me, it was pop. Pop music. Right. Hip hop was the dominant art. Like, I've been a fan of yours probably my entire life. Like, I got in trouble on my baseball team because we were singing Killing, Killing Them Softly one time.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

And, like, we had to run laps because we were singing a girl song. Our coach thought we were gay or something. I don't know. But, like. But, like, for me, personally, like, what's interesting is, like, you made this iconic album with this group, you know, and you. You and Lauren, like. And Proz. Like, you guys had this, like, synergy. It was your second album. Is that right?

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sophomore Man. Yeah. The software.

[Interviewer / Host]

Did you know you were cooking something, like, historic? Did it feel that way?

[Wyclef Jean]

Well, it just felt like we was cooking something amazing because we didn't produce the first album. Yeah, the first album. We signed a Cool in the Gang. Really, Joanna. You know what I mean? So the producer was Khalees Bayan, who's a genius. And then, so with the score, it was like, so could you imagine? So everything was doing in the first album. When we went back to the neighborhood, it wasn't sounding like that. So that's when we was at. Me, my cousin Jerry Wonder, you know, Lauren Prize was in the basement. John Forte.

[Interviewer / Host]

Wow.

[Wyclef Jean]

The NPCs that, you know, because we could hear the block. Like, literally the booger basement is there. The crack house is right behind. Like, I'm telling you, it's the neighborhood. So we was just cooking, and one day I went to see my man Salaam Remy. And Salaam is the one who's responsible for Amy Winehouse. A whole lot of different people. He's an A and R. No, he's a producer. Young little genius. So we clicked. And once we clicked, I just. We just kept doing these beats and then it just, you know. Fat Joe.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, of course.

[Wyclef Jean]

So when you hear the beat Ooh, la la, la. It's the way that beat originally was the Fat Joe shout out to Fat Joe, but the Fugees took the beat from Fat Joe, so.

[Interviewer / Host]

And also something I learned was that in. In Hypso Lie, that the. That one guitar line is inspired by Cream. By. Yeah, yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

So.

[Interviewer / Host]

So it's Wu Tang. Yeah. Like.

[Wyclef Jean]

Well, I was saying. I was saying that Hips Don't Lie was done two years before y' all heard Hipstone Lie.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

I did it for a movie called Havana Nights.

[Interviewer / Host]

Right.

[Wyclef Jean]

You know the story behind that movie, Havana Nights. Yeah, Havana Nights being Dirty. Dirty Dancing. Yeah, Dirty Dancing, too.

[Interviewer / Host]

It was originally a completely different script bought. It was a political thriller, and by the time the studio was done with it, it became Dirty Dancing to Havana Night. Yeah. Yeah. It was, like, supposed to be like. Like. Like completely different in a dark legendary story.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

No, like Hollywood. Yeah, yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

Which they do. They.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, they like.

[Wyclef Jean]

But, yo, that's. That's where that song was first done two years before Shaky.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah. My favorite of your, like, soundtrack songs is with Maya. Of course.

[Wyclef Jean]

Man. You know what? You're taking me way back, so that

[Interviewer / Host]

is such a good.

[Wyclef Jean]

Okay, so now watch this. So out of one of my seven albums, you can understand why one's a country album, right?

[Interviewer / Host]

Well, I also saw you did a cover of Johnny Cash at that one.

[Wyclef Jean]

Cash was there. He was there before he passed. Yeah, I did that with my man Rick Rubin called me in for that. Yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

You just know all these guys, huh? You know all these guys?

[Wyclef Jean]

I mean, you know, I'm pretty legend, fam.

[Interviewer / Host]

That's crazy.

[Wyclef Jean]

I've been around since a baby.

[Interviewer / Host]

That is cool.

[Wyclef Jean]

You're very.

[Interviewer / Host]

You're very nice for being so accomplished.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. Because at the end of the day, whether I'm accomplished, you're accomplished, or whether. Whether. Whether you're accomplished, I'm not, or blah, blah, blah. At the end of the day, what. Look, you see what we're doing? The air that we breathing? It's the same. It's the same, bro.

[Interviewer / Host]

It's so nice of you.

[Wyclef Jean]

The dirt. We go to the same dirt, my brother. So at the end of the day, respect is respect. You dig?

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah. No. Here you go. You're legend.

[Wyclef Jean]

Respect. Respect, baby.

[Interviewer / Host]

You dropped Carnival a year after the score.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. And the label thought I was out of my mind.

[Sponsor / Announcer]

How did you.

[Interviewer / Host]

How did you. After, like, such an intense period of your career, right. Of you with that group, making, like, a classic album. How did you flip like, that has, like, 25 tracks or something. It's like a long ass album. Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

Carnival Audio visual.

[Interviewer / Host]

I had my friend burned me that cd.

[Wyclef Jean]

Audio visual.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

A lot of weed smoking.

[Interviewer / Host]

Really? Yeah. What's your. What's your style? Like in the studio, you just couldn't. It just comes out of you. Your Wayne style.

[Wyclef Jean]

Well, yeah, but you know, I'm from the church, so like coming up in the church and being in the church Since I was 10, yeah, I felt like the spirit connect and we just go with it. But Carnival was like one of those again. It defy what they said hip hop was.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

Now you go back, it was. It was ahead of its time. Like you didn't miss it. Half people got it, y' all got it. But then there was a whole nother crew who didn't know what the hell I was talking about. 25 tracks, dude. I had over 20 different rhythms. Do you know what Carnival is? It's a playlist today. Bad Bunny, Jay Z, 50 Cent. You get what I'm saying? It's a playlist of everything.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, yeah, but it's just so prolific. That's what I'm saying. Like it's you. It was just coming out of you. It was just flowing. Yeah, yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

That's the spirit, baby. That's the church.

[Interviewer / Host]

It's church.

[Wyclef Jean]

I can't even like take no credit for that, really. They throw me into Church at 12 years old and you got to go with it, you know what I mean?

[Interviewer / Host]

Are your parents still with us?

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah, my dad passed away. My mom's still here. She running the church in South Orange Avenue. But you said something which is. Which is ill. It clicked to me. So one day I was in church, you know, young prodigy and putting all the music together. And I noticed in the hymn book. I ran out of fucking songs. And then I went to my dad and I was like, yo, I'm out of songs. And he looked at me and said, well, you make up a song. Then he said, because somebody out there have cancer. They depend on you. Some student out there, they pressure in their head, they sat. They're not gonna pass it. They need you. So to your point, it's like so when you remember the song. So when I come out, that's just the music in general. So when I do music, right, I think of those that I can't see but are going through things.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

If that makes sense.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, yeah. And do you feel like you're better at music than you've ever been? Is it. Is it a progression that's like linear

[Wyclef Jean]

or is it like, I'm telling you right now, I'm better than I've ever been, man.

[Interviewer / Host]

Amazing. Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

Like, I'm better than I've ever been. Uh huh. Yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

That's awesome.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yes, sir.

[Interviewer / Host]

So cool. I'm coming out with eight. Eight albums this year actually.

[Wyclef Jean]

All right, baby, let's do it. Yeah, let me get a feature on one, you know.

[Interviewer / Host]

Oh, yeah, yeah. But for, for free,

[Sponsor / Announcer]

I think.

[Interviewer / Host]

What about entertaining people do you love so much? Like.

[Wyclef Jean]

Well, I'm a born entertainer and what I love about entertainment is every time you see me on the stage and you see me going crazy, those that's been a Wyclef show, they're like, where that energy come from. Yeah, bro, I'm celebrating life. When you see me on that stage, I'm celebrating life. And I'm reminding y' all how important it is to. It's a good thing to be alive. And at the end of the day, we take that most little thing for granted, right. Because we ain't promised tomorrow. So when you come to my show, I'm gonna give you, remember, like Prince, 1999. I'm gonna treat every day like it's 1999.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

Almost like the world's gonna be over the next day. So what I love the most, yo, I do shows and people come up to me and be like, bro, I was thinking about offing myself, and then I heard this song, someone please call 91 1. And I changed my mind. I've done shows. People came to me like, yo, good looking, man, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have smashed that baby. You know what I'm saying? We married now, so at the end of the day, I know my assignment. You feel what I'm saying to you. And like all my peers, I'm just the music man. I get it.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

Do you feel like.

[Interviewer / Host]

Do you feel like you are afforded your. Your flowers adequately? Do you or do you have not even care?

[Wyclef Jean]

I don't really care.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

The reason why I don't care, I don't. Because when you look at Barb Marley, he don't have one Grammy. When you look at Jimi Hendrix, when you look at the loneliest monk, when you look at the illest. I got the assignment, right? And my assignment is to raise the higher consciousness of the human race. And if I have to do that, I'm going to do that. That's just my assignment.

[Interviewer / Host]

You ever look at Bob Marley in the face and he looks like James Franco? Almost exactly.

[Wyclef Jean]

You've seen the Young pictures of barley.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

Bar before the dreads.

[Sponsor / Announcer]

Yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

It would be so dope if we got to meet him. Just the three of us. Got to chill.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. That definitely be a lot of smoking.

[Interviewer / Host]

Oh, my God. I would. I would. I would. I would try and I would try

[Wyclef Jean]

and act like I like a lot of chalice, man.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

I mean, like, wait, speaking of chalice, have you ever hit the bong? Like, chalice, like Rastafari? You've been to Jamaica?

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, of course.

[Wyclef Jean]

So you've hit, like, the actual challenge, the bomb.

[Interviewer / Host]

Oh, yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah. Okay. My bad. Okay.

[Interviewer / Host]

No, no, of course.

[Wyclef Jean]

You know the vibe.

[Interviewer / Host]

I do it regularly.

[Wyclef Jean]

You know the vibe.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

Okay.

[Interviewer / Host]

I. I'm bad at weed.

[Wyclef Jean]

Yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah. It makes me think of everything I say throughout the day, and then I'm like, everyone hates you. And why did you say that?

[Wyclef Jean]

But you've hit the bong, though.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, I've hit a bong before, bro.

[Wyclef Jean]

All right, my man. Cool. I. I half baked.

[Sponsor / Announcer]

You performed.

[Interviewer / Host]

You performed recently again with Lauren. Is there an ambition? Like, will we ever see you guys make music together again?

[Wyclef Jean]

The greatest ambition that's there is, like, I got my sister back.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Wyclef Jean]

And what I mean by that is, at the end of the day, I'm an uncle to Lauren's kids. I can't even act. You know? I mean, they call me Unk. You feel what I'm saying to you? And at the end of the day, that magic that we have, that, you know, when we create music or, you know, I'm saying, that energy you got, the fact you have to. Just the fact I can do a beat and be like, yo, sis, check this out. I'm content. But, bro, check this out. I'm content now. What that lies in the universe is the most amazing thing, right? Because none of us know what's gonna happen. But I can tell you what I feel, though. Magic's in the air.

[Interviewer / Host]

They're getting back together.

[Wyclef Jean]

They're getting back together.

[Interviewer / Host]

I honestly, I've been trying to keep it cool. I think maybe a little bit, or. No. Have I embarrassed myself now?

[Wyclef Jean]

You chill. Okay, great.

[Interviewer / Host]

It's just an honor for you to be here. I appreciate you coming on so much already. I think give it up for White House. That.

[Guest Performer / Rapper]

Sam.