2 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Diverse and excellent Monday, April 11, 2005
IF your expecting classic Fugee, then look elsewhere but on the other Hand Wyclef does a excellent bringing a "world music sound" to his fans.
6 out of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Adventurous Listeners Will Be RewardedFriday, March 18, 2005
I've been an appreciator of Wyclef's musical output since the Fugees first dropped in 1994. As I've said in other reviews, I don't always agree with his public persona (in fact, I think familial allegiances currently, sadly have him on the wrong side of the Haiti independence/JB Aristide issue) but it's his musical output that resonates one million times and here is where Wyclef never fails to deliver. I cop everything that Clef (and Jerry Wonder) puts out. He constantly pushes the boundaries of our musical sensibilities and we'd be wise to just grab on and let him steer the ship. He hasn't failed us yet. Sure, he's taken us into unproductive directions before (like the lackluster duet on Tanya Stephens' "Gangsta Blues" album), but he always rights the vessel and puts us back on the radical course we signed up for.
This is the best Wyclef album that most of us will never hear. It's rich with musical texture and rhythmic experimentation. Clef has provided previous musical hints of this creative undercurrent and I'm glad he finally found the time to pull it all together in one package. This is Clef's Pan-African-Caribbean masterpiece. He sounds more relaxed here than he has since The Carnival. He sounds like he's having a great time and we, the listeners, benefit from it all. This is a light, uplifting, thoroughly enjoyable disk.
It's not a hip hop album, it's not a traditional Haitian pop album, the closest musical peer I can compare it to is Zouk as typified by early Kassav', however, even that comparison is just a rough estimate. This album has cousins in the Reggaeton/Cubaton camp, in the Ragga camp, in South African Township music, in African American song structure, the skilled listener will also hear some Papa Wemba in there, etc. Clef appears to have taken the truest definition of the word "creole" to heart and mixed it all up in a gumbo/jambalaya that we can't help but love. Good one, Clef. Again. As usual.
I hope this album will inspire more visibility for the lesser known areas of Caribbean music. The next obvious step for Clef would be to produce a compilation of Haitian musicians, however, I fear his political affiliations will silence some of the more vital Haitian voices. Anyway, enough speculation. Buy this one, NOW. You owe it to your ears.
1 out of 5 people found the following review helpful:
unfortunate change of paceTuesday, February 15, 2005
coming from a longtime wyclef fan, i am very disapointed by his latest release "Welcome to Haiti Creole 101." While I respect Wyclef reaching out to his roots, the music wyclef is reating is flat out disapointing. Almost all of the songs sound alike, with a traditional African dance song sound. Unless you share heritage with wyclef or have some sort of peculiar inteterest, I would not reccomend this album to you. In my eyes (or ears) Wyclef Jean's last two albums have shifted away from thw wonderful songs in the Ecleftic days. The two stars were earned by the one great song on this cd in "President." Not only is it an appealing song, but great lyrics complement his vocals. As a loyal Wyclef fan, I hope he decides to return to the form of the great all around musician that he showed us a few years ago, both solo and with the Fugees.
5 out of 5 people found the following review helpful:
A TRUE ARTIST!!!Saturday, December 25, 2004
originality and artistic creation are missing from much of today's hip-hop music...this is something that you never have to worry about when you purchase a wyclef disc...this is not that manufactured music that you are normally used to hearing...this is real...fans of any genre should appreciate the musical feel to this joint...clef's on point always...big up to true hip-hop with haitian flavor...cop it!
3 out of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Learn Something!!!!Monday, December 13, 2004
This is a great CD to get and provides you a blend of Haitian Compas, Haitian Rap & Ragga. In summation, a great overview of old and new generation Haitian music. Try it out, you may learn something.