andPOP » wyclef jean

Wyclef Jean Supports SARAH PALIN???

andPOP Staff — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:05:10 +0000

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This is not what we were expecting. Wyclef Jean has openly said he supports Sarah Palin.

Wyclef was very excited when Obama first got elected, standing in Washington and watching him getting sworn into office. “I’m like an Obama groupie from the very beginning,” he told MTV, adding, “I know it’s gonna be dirt cold. … On camera, it’s going to look like I have one coat on, but I’mma have 17 sweaters under that, ’cause there’s nobody takin’ my seat!”

But during Fashion Week, Wyclef said he was a supporter of Palin.

“I have to tell you this: I am a huge fan of Sarah Palin,” he told the audience (via WWD). “Cause she’s rad. She’s shrewd. She’s cool. Because at the end of the day, I’m for the people, because this is the United States of America… this is what America’s really about. Anyone should have the right to say, ‘Look I can do the job and this is what qualifies me to do the job.’…. Now my wife probably will debate and disagree with me.”

Wyclef Jean Being Treated for Gunshot Wound

Kimberly Rupnarain — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 02:24:46 +0000

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Singer Wyclef Jean is recovering after being shot in the hand in Delmas, Haiti on Saturday, March 20, 2011.

According to Us Magazine, the 41-year-old recording artist was shot just after 11 p.m. in Delmas near Port-au-Prince on Saturday. In the hours after shooting, Jean’s management took to his Twitter account, to let his followers know he was doing okay, “We have spoken to Wyclef, he is ok. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.”

His spokesperson also confirmed that after the injury, Jean was, “immediately taken to the hospital, treated for a minor graze to his hand and released.”

Happy to hear that the Haitian-born artist is, in fact, doing well. Though details about the shooting have yet to be reported, Wyclef was in Haiti to support Michel Martelly in the presidential runoff elections on Sunday. Martelly, like Jean, is a Haitian recording artist and activist, and is running against the former first lady, Mirlande Manigat.

Something you may not have known? Jean himself, announced in 2010 that he was to run for president of Haiti, but was ruled ineligible in August because his primary residence is in New Jersey. His rep said that, “Wyclef’s commitment to his native country and to his people is unparalleled. He is therefore undeterred by this incident.”

Good on Wyclef. Though the injury no doubt stopped any last-minute campaigning, it’s admirable to see internationally-born artists taking pride and responsibility for the future of their homelands. Though many recording artists choose to shy away from politics, Jean’s involvement and concern for Haiti remains evident. Even more commendable is his participation considering the fact he isn’t a permanent resident.

The results of the election between Manigat and Martelly will be released on April 16, but don’t expect Wyclef to be on bed rest until then – the man is staying alive.

Wyclef Jean’s Haitian Presidential Candidacy Might Be Over

Jacob Morris — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:37:13 +0000

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Wyclef Jean’s Haitian presidential candidacy might be over before it really even started. As E! Online reports, Jean’s name didn’t appear on a list of approved candidates for the presidency.

An election official told Reuters that “he is not on the list as I speak,” confirming the news.

The current list isn’t official, so there is still a slim chance that Jean might appear on the ballot—The Provisional Electoral Council is set to announce the official list Friday.

It’s unclear why Jean’s name wasn’t included, but speculation has been directed toward the legitimacy of his qualifications that are required to run. Some are unsure whether Jean has actually lived in Haiti for five years; though he was born in the country, he moved to the United States as a child.

Jean maintains confidence though, he told the Miami Herald, “My lawyers have produced every piece of document that has been asked for,” continuing, “No one can say that there is any flaw.”

I guess we’ll have to wait and see on Friday.

Sean Penn Criticizes Wyclef Jean’s Haitian Presidential Candidacy

Jacob Morris — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 15:54:42 +0000

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Wyclef Jean announced that he will be running as a candidate for president of Haiti Thursday, and it wasn’t long before criticism started to come his way, reports E! Online. Sean Penn appeared on CNN Thursday to publicly criticize Jean and what he believes his motives are being influenced by.

“Right now, I worry that this is a campaign that is more about a vision of flying around the world talking to people, it’s certainly not about the youth drafting him,” said Penn, commenting on Jean’s earlier statement about the youth of Haiti drafting him, rather than him simply running for president.

Penn, who currently resides in Haiti doesn’t believe that the response inside the country is anywhere near the kind of anticipation that people in the United States are building it up to be.

“This is somebody who’s going to receive an enormous amount of his support, if he continues this campaign, from the United States,” said Penn. “I have to say, I’m very suspicious of it, simply because he, as an ambassador-at-large, has been virtually silent. For those of us in Haiti, he has been a non-presence.”

“One of the reasons I don’t know much about Wyclef Jean is I haven’t seen or heard anything in these last six months that I’ve been in Haiti. I think he’s an important voice, I hope he doesn’t sacrifice that voice by taking the eye off the very devastating realities off the ground and the very different strategic future it’s got in putting itself back together.”

It’s clear how Sean Penn feels about Wyclef Jean’s candidacy, what do you think?

Wyclef Jean Running for President of Haiti – Maybe

andPOP Staff — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:32:05 +0000

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Well he has done a ton in the music world, now it’s time to try the political world. CNN reports that musician Wyclef Jean will announce his candidacy for the President of Haiti on Thursday’s edition of “Larry King Live.”

Other details are very sketchy at this time, but sources do confirm Wycelf’s appearance on the CNN show. There have been rumors circulating for months that he may run for President. He even wrote a song called “If I Was President.”

Wyclef was born in Haiti but moved to Brooklyn soon after. PopEater reports that to run for president, Jean must prove he’s resided in Haiti for five consecutive years, that he owns property in the country and that he has no other citizenship but Haitian

BET’s “SOS: Help for Haiti” Telethon Brings Wyclef, Justin Bieber, Keri Hilson

Angelina Irinici — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:32:09 +0000

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BET’s “SOS Save Ourselves: Help for Haiti” telethon was studded with stars, talent and a positive message Friday night. MTV news reports that Queen Latifah, Diddy and Pharrell spearheaded the event that was held at the American Airlines arena in Miami, and encouraged viewers to donate to the cause of Haiti.

The night opened with Wyclef Jean and Mavado’s performance of “Hold On”. Clef, who brought Haitian MCs to perform alongside him, told the audience he wanted to teach them “Creole 101”. The Haitian born rapper transitioned into a mini-set that began with “Sweetest Girl”, with Akon making an appearance. After doing “I’mma Zoe” with Haitian singer Black Dada the performance ended with everyone waving Haitian flags.

Viewers were treated to a range of performances from inspirational, powerful vocalists like Mary J. Blige and Jazmine Sullivan singing “We Gonna Make It,” to an unlikely combination of Justin Bieber teaming up with Ludacris for “Baby” (the 15-year-old saluted Haiti with singing parts of “One less Lonely Girl” in French).

Other performances included Robin Thicke’s amazing rendition of “Mercy Mercy Me” by Marvin Gaye, Busta Rhymes’s brand-new Haiti-themed song and Keri Hilson singing her single “Knock You Down.”

Following her performance, Hilson delivered an inspirational message to the crowd: ”No one is paid to be here. We’re all here from the bottoms of our hearts. We’re all brothers and sisters in Christ. No one is exempt. We can all do something.”

Nas took the stage with reggae artist, Damian Marley, as they performed “The Strong Will Continue”, from their upcoming LP entitled “Distant Relatives”.

“This is for the strong,” Nas shouted. “This is for Haiti!”

The evening continued with Chris Brown performing “Crawl” and “With You”. India.Arie, Jazmine Sullivan and Chrisette Michele gave a beautiful and special performance of Kirk Franklin’s Haiti relief song “Are You Listening”, followed by breaking out into “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” in the middle of the song.

Diddy, Pharrel and Queen Latifah closed the show starting with a “Lean on Me” sing-a-long which brought out most of the other performers of the night and stars like Monica, Pitbull, Brian McKnight, Sean Kingston and Gloria Estefan.

Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera Among Performers at George Clooney Haiti Benefit

Vanessa Baker — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:23:58 +0000

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George Clooney’s “Hope for Haiti” benefit will feature performances by Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Bono, Sting and Alicia Keys, reports CBC. Clooney said he expects more than 40 celebrities to come out to the New York event on Jan. 22 to show their support for the victims of a recent earthquake in Haiti.

He said the goal of the fundraiser is “to show the people of Haiti that the whole world is paying attention.”

Clooney and Haitian-born singer Wyclef Jean will host the event, which will be broadcast on over a dozen television channels and will feature CNN’s Anderson Cooper live from the disaster-stricken country.

Proceeds will benefit the Red Cross, UNICEF, Oxfam America, Partners in Health and the Yele Haiti Foundation, started by Jean. Songs performed at the benefit will be available for purchase on iTunes, with the funds raised going to relief efforts.

Wyclef Owes Jacob the Jeweler for Some Unpaid Diamonds

andPOP Staff — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:53:00 +0000

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Rapper Wyclef Jean may soon be fighting diamond legal battles.

According to eonline.com, Jean owes almost $400,000 to diamond retailer, Jacob the Jeweler.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, the company claims that Jean purchased $765,100 worth of jewellery which included several watches between March 2002 and January 2006.

The suit also claims that the company demanded on numerous occasions that Jean pay for the jewels but thus far Jean has only repaid $319,680.

Jean has not yet replied to the suit nor released a statement.

Interview: Wyclef Jean to Release ‘Carnival 2,’ But Where Are the Fugees?

Adam Gonshor — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 03:57:20 +0000

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The next Wyclef Jean album will be called “Carnival 2″ and it’s nearly complete, the rapper revealed exclusively to andPOP while in Toronto this month.

“Carnival,” released in 1997, was Wyclef’s debut solo album, which earned him a Best Rap Album Grammy nomination. Ever since then, he has mentioned that he was working on a follow-up, but it appears its release may finally be upon us.

“‘Carnival 2′ is going to be crazy,” Wyclef told andPOP. “It’s going to be the wildest piece of material that you’ve heard from Wyclef since the ‘Carnival’ as a whole piece of music.”

Jean said a big focus has been on writing and musical arrangement.

“I’m like the hip-hop Amadeus,” he said. “Like Dershawin, I’m going to write a lot of crazy arrangements.”

Jerry Wonder, Clef’s longtime producer, couldn’t hold back his excitement for “Carnival 2.”

“Wait ’till you get the 2,” he said. “It’s sort of the same concept as ‘Carnival’ but it’s like the 2020 version.”

Wonder revealed that some of the guests from the first album will be back, perhaps even Lauryn Hill.

Speaking of Hill, what is going on with the Fugees reunion? When Wyclef, Lauryn and Pras hit the studio, they released one single, and another track was leaked, but nothing else has been released since.

Speaking briefly about the Fugees, Jean’s tone didn’t sound too optimistic.

“Tell them hurry up. I’m moving. They gotta get with it,” he said.

“We tryin,’” added Wonder. “It’s probably going to happen but everybody’s busy.”

Angelina Jolie the Most Beautiful

andPOP Staff — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 12:25:28 +0000

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Angelina Jolie has topped People Magazine’s list of the 100 most beautiful people.

It’s her fourth time on the list, but first time on the cover of the issue that will be on newsstands Friday. The magazine says her charity work is what makes her the most beautiful.

“She looks the most beautiful when she’s in the field natural, no makeup, nothing,” the magazine quotes musician Wyclef Jean, who worked with Jolie on a relief effort in Haiti, as saying. “Because you see Angelina, the angel. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

Boyfriend Brad Pitt and children Maddox and Zahara are also on the list. The Jolie-Pitts were named the most beautiful family.

Halle Berry, Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, Kirstie Alley, Ryan Seacrest and University of Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart also made the list. All 26 spokesmodels from game show Deal or No Deal are also on the list.

Wyclef Jean Signs TV Deal with HBO

Adam Gonshor — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 19:32:22 +0000

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One might say Wyclef Jean is following in the footsteps of Reba McIntyre.

The rapper, who is recording a highly-anticipated new album with The Fugees, has signed a deal with HBO to star in and produce a sitcom based on his life.

Jean will team up with Seth Rosenfeld and Danny Hoch to write the show, which is still in early stages of development.

He will also write and produce music for the show.

Jean told andPOP last year that The Fugees would be getting back together to record a new album. Last week, they released a brand new single, “Take it Easy,” via the web. Their last album together was “The Score,” the Grammy-winning masterpiece, released in 1996.