In the music business, where album and ticket sales are often valued over musical quality or general significance, Wyclef Jean continues to utilize his position to produce meaningful, yet subversive music. And he’s rolling with a serious supporting cast.
“The Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant,” Wyclef’s latest album, out tomorrow, is his “solo” sequel to his first release “Carnival: Wyclef Jean featuring Refugee Allstars,” and his list of friends offer something for almost any musical taste. As he wraps up his first decade as a soloist, the Haitian-born R&B artist has enlisted the help of popular names including Lil’ Wayne, Akon, Shakira and, in a blatant demonstration of transcendence, Paul Simon.
The most intriguing collaboration of the entire album has to be “Fast Car,” a metaphorical tune featuring folk legend Simon that calmly deals with the stress of loss and how fast this life can end. “Fast Car” is both lyrically and aurally uplifting, and Simon’s participation represents two impressive bridges of creativity in terms of generation and genre.
At this point, Wyclef could have you thinking “Hmm. Not bad, ‘Clef. Can you do a song appealing to more concrete social issues? Maybe something dealing with that girl who lost her way?” Enter “Sweetest Girl,” featuring Akon and Lil Wayne, a feminine-themed shout-out aimed at that mother who gave up her innocence for the baby. Unfortunately, this song might be playing while that mother prepares for her Monday shift at the local Gentleman’s Club.
Composing a single aimed at social issues is not entirely unfamiliar to Wyclef Jean, but let it be known: neither is a club hit. Blending Wyclef’s obsession with tribal themes and Shakira’s harmonious vocals, “King & Queen” will be luring people to the dance floor. With the lyric “Find your own girl” in constant repetition, this song obviously appeals to carnal activity.
Despite the fact that Wyclef has put together an impressive album featuring several famous voices, the lack of solo tracks begs the question: Is this really a solo album? Excluding the first and last tracks of the album (“Intro” and “Outro”), “The Carnival II” features only one song without outside influence. Even though he has already proven his worth over and over in many different aspects of the music industry, this album lacks independence and some themes miss their mark. Songs such as “Selena,” a somewhat outdated track dedicated to the slain Latina vocalist, and “Slow Down,” a collaboration featuring recently jailed rapper T.I., fail to support the meaningful message behind the rest of the album. The latter speaks of “The whole world turning into a war zone,” but features a rapper who was recently indicted on illegal weapon charges. Where’s the consistency?
With its many victories and minimal failures, the latest work of the pop culture’s most active social voice hits most of its targets. While some look only to earning potential, Wyclef has infused thought and emotion into mainstream music, but that doesn’t come without help.
Source-advancetitan.com
“The Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant,” Wyclef’s latest album, out tomorrow, is his “solo” sequel to his first release “Carnival: Wyclef Jean featuring Refugee Allstars,” and his list of friends offer something for almost any musical taste. As he wraps up his first decade as a soloist, the Haitian-born R&B artist has enlisted the help of popular names including Lil’ Wayne, Akon, Shakira and, in a blatant demonstration of transcendence, Paul Simon.
The most intriguing collaboration of the entire album has to be “Fast Car,” a metaphorical tune featuring folk legend Simon that calmly deals with the stress of loss and how fast this life can end. “Fast Car” is both lyrically and aurally uplifting, and Simon’s participation represents two impressive bridges of creativity in terms of generation and genre.
At this point, Wyclef could have you thinking “Hmm. Not bad, ‘Clef. Can you do a song appealing to more concrete social issues? Maybe something dealing with that girl who lost her way?” Enter “Sweetest Girl,” featuring Akon and Lil Wayne, a feminine-themed shout-out aimed at that mother who gave up her innocence for the baby. Unfortunately, this song might be playing while that mother prepares for her Monday shift at the local Gentleman’s Club.
Composing a single aimed at social issues is not entirely unfamiliar to Wyclef Jean, but let it be known: neither is a club hit. Blending Wyclef’s obsession with tribal themes and Shakira’s harmonious vocals, “King & Queen” will be luring people to the dance floor. With the lyric “Find your own girl” in constant repetition, this song obviously appeals to carnal activity.
Despite the fact that Wyclef has put together an impressive album featuring several famous voices, the lack of solo tracks begs the question: Is this really a solo album? Excluding the first and last tracks of the album (“Intro” and “Outro”), “The Carnival II” features only one song without outside influence. Even though he has already proven his worth over and over in many different aspects of the music industry, this album lacks independence and some themes miss their mark. Songs such as “Selena,” a somewhat outdated track dedicated to the slain Latina vocalist, and “Slow Down,” a collaboration featuring recently jailed rapper T.I., fail to support the meaningful message behind the rest of the album. The latter speaks of “The whole world turning into a war zone,” but features a rapper who was recently indicted on illegal weapon charges. Where’s the consistency?
With its many victories and minimal failures, the latest work of the pop culture’s most active social voice hits most of its targets. While some look only to earning potential, Wyclef has infused thought and emotion into mainstream music, but that doesn’t come without help.
Source-advancetitan.com
