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Nelust Wyclef Jean () (born October 17 , 1972 ) is a Grammy Award -winning and Golden Globe -nominated Haitian - American Rapper , Guitarist , Producer , and member of the Hip Hop trio The Fugees . BIOGRAPHY Early life Jean was born in , New York when he was nine, then to northern New Jersey , where he began playing the Guitar and studying Jazz in high school. At 14, Jean was shot. "Hip hop big shot", by Kieran Grant, June 26, 2002 As a young adult, Jean worked as a cabdriver. In 1987, Jean, his friend Prakazrel Michel (whom Jean has called his cousin), and his classmate Lauryn Hill formed a hip hop group called the Tranzlator Crew before becoming The Fugees . Musical career The Fugees signed to " (adapted from The Bee Gees ' " Stayin' Alive ") and " Gone Till November " (recorded with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra ). '' (2000)]] 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. At the concert Woodstock 99 , Jean paid homage to 1969 Woodstock performer Jimi Hendrix by setting fire to his guitar after playing " The Star Spangled Banner ", and burnt his fingers while doing so. Jean's second solo album, released in ''. This was recorded with guests including Youssou N'Dour , Earth, Wind & Fire , Kenny Rogers , The Rock and Mary J. Blige . With Blige he released " 911 " as a single. The critical reception was mixed, with many calling the album scattershot and too far-ranging to be cohesive. Regardless, he was nominated for Best Hip-Hop Act at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards . BBC News (Oct. 2, 2000): "MTV Europe Music Awards: The nominations" Jean's third album, '' Masquerade '', was released in 2002 and sold well, though critics frequently panned it. Wyclef's fourth album, ''The Preacher's Son'', was released in November 2003 as the follow-up to his first solo album, ''the Carnival'' In ). Most of its songs are in his native language of Haitian Creole . He also covered Creedence Clearwater Revival 's song "Fortunate Son" for the soundtrack of the 2004 film remake of '' The Manchurian Candidate '' and wrote the song Million Voices for the film Hotel Rwanda . Jean also produced and wrote songs for the soundtrack to Jonathan Demme 's 2003 documentary '' The Agronomist '', about the Haitian activist and radio personality Jean Dominique . With Jerry Duplessis , Jean also composed the score of the documentary '' Ghosts Of Cité Soleil '', ''Ghosts Of Cité Soleil'' - Casting Info (2005) in which he appears onscreen speaking by telephone in 2006 to a "''chimere''" gang-leader and aspiring rapper, Winston "2Pac" Jean. ''Film Journal International'' (June 27, 2007): ''Ghosts of Cité Soleil'' (review by Frank Lovece) During a period between 2004 and 2006 and fueled by a reunion performance in Dave Chappelle's Block Party, it appeared that the Fugees were on track to record a new album, however Fugees member Pras claims to Billboard "To put it nicely, it's dead." He says the root of this animosity is the third member of the group, Lauryn Hill, saying to Billboard, "Me and Clef, we on the same page, but Lauryn is in her zone, and I'm fed up with that shit. Here she is, blessed with a gift, with the opportunity to rock and give and she's running on some bullshit? I'm a fan of Lauryn's but I can't respect that."[http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003613627 Jean announced he would release an album in September 2007 that he recorded in Atlanta, Georgia with the help of T.I. . Right now, Wyclef released a new song called ''Sweetest Girl'' featuring Lil' Wayne , Niia , and Akon . He can also be heard on T.I.'s song " You Know What It Is ". Collaborations Jean worked with artists including Mary J Blige , Akon , Celia Cruz , Gloria Estefan , DJ Quik , Queen , Sarah Connor , Carlos Santana , 2face Idibia , Tevin Campbell , Tom Jones , Cypress Hill , Bounty Killer , DJ Khaled , Whitney Houston , Destiny's Child , Brian Harvey , The Rock , Sublime , Simply Red , Mya , Sinéad O'Connor , Missy Elliott , Bono , Beenie Man , Elephant Man , City High , Wayne Wonder , Buju Banton , T.I. , Scarface , T-Vice , Sweet Micky , The Edge , Mick Jagger , Ying Yang Twins , Canibus , The Black Eyed Peas , Eric Benét , Brandy , Subliminal , Pitbull , Timbaland , Magoo , Tarkan , Shakira , Jin , Sunz Of Man , Big Pun , Kenny Rogers , Xzibit , Juvenile , The Neville Brothers , Willie Nelson , I&I , Busta Rhymes , Maxi Priest , R. Kelly , Leela James , John Legend , Ziggy Marley , M.O.P. , Anthony B , Cam'ron , Rammstein , Prodigy and Machel Montano , and rapper Tupac Shakur on the ''Rap Phenomenon II'' album. He sang background and rapped in the song "Please Man" on Big & Rich 's album '' Between Raising Hell And Amazing Grace ''. Jean collaborated with Shakira on her single " Hips Don't Lie ", which was nominated for the Grammy Award For Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals . AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS Jean was nominated for Best Hip-Hop Act at the 2000 nomination for his track entitled " Million Voices " featured on the soundtrack to the film '' Hotel Rwanda ''. HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS Jean has been active in his support of his native country and created the foundation Yéle Haïti Yele.org to provide humanitarian aid and assistance to Haïti. He describes Yéle is a non-political organization intended to empower the people of Haïti and the Haïtian Diaspora to rebuild their nation, saying, "The objective of Yéle Haïti 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".. Yele Haiti was created in January 13th 2005. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were present for the first anniversary in 2006. In January 2007, Jean became a roving ambassador for Haiti, to help improve its image abroad. BBC News (4 January 2007): "Wyclef becomes Haiti 'ambassador'" TELEVISION AND FILM
DISCOGRAPHY See Also: Wyclef Jean discography
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