Yéle Haiti is a movement established by mulitiple Grammy Award-winning hip hop musician Wyclef Jean to assist his native land of Haiti and make a difference through projects in education, health, environment and humanitarian assistance.
Watch Wyclef on Night Talk!
Watch Wyclef on Night Talk with Mike Schneider on Bloomberg TV!
Wyclef discusses his album, Carnival II: Memoirs of An Immigrant, Yéle Haiti, Together for Haiti, and Global Food Crisis. CLICK HERE to watch now!
Wyclef writes about Haiti in Newsday! Click image to view 5/25/08 article.
Emergency Alliance For Food Crisis Releif!
Wyclef Jean and his Yele Haiti Foundation have joined forces with World Food Programme (WFP) and Pan American Development Foundaion (PADF) to announce the launch of "Together For Haiti" (Kombit Pou Ayiti), a partnership committed to providing food, creating jobs and supporting local agriculture as part of a coordinated emergency response to the current food crisis.
So far they have raised $3 million as a combination of cash and in-kind donations to cover the first six months of operation. The goal is to raise 10 million by the end of the year and 48 million over two years.
The press conference, held 5/20/08 at the Gansevoort Hotel in the meat packing dristict of NYC, (symbolic in itself), boasted an impressive gathering of Haitian dignitaries, economist Jeffrey Sachs, supermodel Petra Nemcova, who has visited Haiti on behalf of Yele Haiti before, and singer/songwriter Paul Simon. Simon currently has a duet, "Fast Car", with Jean from the Haitian superstar's latest album, "Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant".
There was a hush in the room when Jean introduced Simon as his idol and mentor. Simon told the press, who gathered around him in admiration and curiosity, that he will do his part to help the cause.
Donations came in from Russell Simmons and Voila, the mobile company that serves Haiti.
Wyclef Jean (born October 17, 1972) is a rapper, producer, and member of the superstar hip hop trio The Fugees, known now for a series of high-profile hit singles.
Born in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, Jean moved to Brooklyn when he was nine, then to Northern New Jersey, where he began playing the guitar and studying jazz in high school. In 1987, Jean, his friend Prakazrel Michel (Pras) and his classmate, Lauryn Hill, formed a group called the Tranzlator Crew before becoming The Fugees.
The Fugees signed to Ruffhouse Records and released their debut, Blunted on Reality, but the album was panned and sold poorly. Their eclectic follow-up, The Score, however, sold over 17 million copies worldwide and turned the trio into international superstars. Jean soon announced plans to begin a solo career with 1997's Wyclef Jean Presents the Carnival Featuring the Refugee All-Stars (more typically called simply The Carnival). The album's guests included Hill and Pras along with Jean's siblings, the I Threes (back-up vocals for Bob Marley), Neville Brothers and Celia Cruz. The album was a major hit, as were two singles: "We Trying to Stay Alive" (adapted from The Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive") and "Gone 'Til November" (recorded with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra).
Jean went on to work with artists including Santana, Tevin Campbell, Cypress Hill, Bounty Killer, Whitney Houston, Destiny's Child, Sublime, Simply Red, Mya, Sin..ad O'Connor, Kimberly Scott, Mick Jagger, Canibus, The Black Eyed Peas and Eric Ben..t. The Fugees remained in limbo during this time, with the follow-up to The Score being continually postponed as all three members cultivated solo careers. Jean's second solo album was The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book, recorded with guests Youssou N'Dour, Earth, Wind & Fire, Kenny Rogers, The Rock and Mary J. Blige. The critical reception was mixed, with many calling the album scattershot and too far-ranging to be cohesive.
Jean's third album, Masquerade, was released in 2002 and sold well, though critics frequently panned it.
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His fourth album was The Preacher's Son, an album that Wyclef considered a continuation of his first album, Carnival.
In 2004, he released his fifth album, entitled Sak Pas.. Presents: Welcome to Haiti (Creole 101) (released in the United States by Koch Records). A freewheeling album that is something of a return to his Caribbean roots, most of the songs on the album are in his native language of Haitian Creole or Krey..l. He also covered Creedence Clearwater Revival's song "Fortunate Son" for the soundtrack of The Manchurian Candidate.
Jean also produced and wrote original songs for the original soundtrack to Jonathan Demme's 2003 Documentary "The Agronomist", a film about the legendary Jean Dominique, an active man of the people of Wyclef's homeland, Haiti.
In the same fashion, Jean crafted the music for the documentary Ghosts Of Cite Soleil, in which he found himself on the phone with a young and notorious gang leader in Haiti wishing to leave the life of violence and follow Jean's footsteps and pursue a career in rap.
In 2005, Jean earned a Golden Globe nomination for his track entitled "Million Voices" featured on the soundtrack to the film Hotel Rwanda.
Jean has been active in his support of his native country and created his own foundation Y..le Haiti to provide humanitarian aid and assistance to Haiti, which is currently the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Y..le is a non-political organization intended to empower the people of Haiti and the Haitian diaspora to rebuild their nation.
"The objective of Y..le Haiti is to restore pride and a reason to hope, and for the whole country to regain the deep spirit and strength that is part of our heritage." -Wyclef Jean
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IM JUST NOT A GOOD SONGWRITER IM A GREAT SONGWRITER
One hand on the bible, The other pointing at my idol, I’m one step away from success, Blink of an eye, Bullets fly, Before you pick up a gun, Think of the one you gonna leave behind, Life and death it’s between your breath, Why do you wanna kill or be killed, Let god take the life he gave, Not you? After my death I want my songs to play, On the air waves to show people the right way, I’m not saying I’m the best, But there’s god above the rest Sometimes I miss my child hood, I bet you all do, We all need some one to follow, Someone to look up to, But never look down on anyone, We all the same, Some have money and fame, Just believe in your self you could move the world, I premise your life’s gonna get better, Together we could make a change, Love what you hate, We all have one life to live, Everything that you own will stay in this world, The only thing that you take with you is your soul, So close your eyes and choose who you really wan
