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| Artist: Wyclef Jean |
| Album: Wyclef Jean presents The Carnival featuring Refugee Allstars |
| Genre: Pop-Rap/Reggae-Rap (with some lyrics in Creole, at that!) |
| Producers: Most of these tracks are produced by Wyclef himself, with Pras and Salaam Remi helping out a little. |
| Tracks: 24 tracks at 73:51. Yes, it's a long one (keep in mind that about nine of the tracks are skits). |
| Label: Ruffhouse/Columbia |
| For fans of: The Fugees |
| Year of Release: 1997 |
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Date of Review: Dec. 24, 1997 |
| LYRICS: 7 |
| FLOW: 8 |
| MESSAGE: 7 |
| BEATS: 8 |
| ORIGINALITY: 9 |
| HYPE: 9 |
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CONSISTENCY: 8 |
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SCORE: 79% |
| Information on my ratings system. |
First of all, let's find out a little about Wyclef. He, along with Lauryn Hill and Pras Michel, is in the rap group The Fugees. Their first album, Blunted on Reality, got some props for being an innovative rap album, but wasn't much of a commercial success. But following it was The Score, which got both props from the "Hip-Hop Nation" (tm) and went multi-platinum, selling well over 6 million records. Wyclef's problem is, well. . . people don't really give him any credit. You see, Lauryn Hill was just so damn impressive on the first two Fugees albums that nobody even really paid much attention to poor Wyclef and Pras. So, I, along with many other folks, thought Wyclef's solo debut wouldn't really be worth listening to. Well, that's about as wrong as you could get, as this album is great. Keep on reading to find out why.
The album begins with "Intro/Court/Clef/Intro," which is. . . *drum-roll* an intro track. This one doesn't sound bad or anything, but, it's only an intro track, nothing special that you'll want to listen to over and over again. This track begins a theme that holds true for most of the rest of the interludes throughout the album: Wyclef is being held trial for some crime or another. These are funny the first few times you hear them, but pretty soon, they just get old.
"This son of a bitch here is not only a player, he's a definite bad influence and is capable of inciting many riots. He's a god damn revolutionary!"
The first real track of the album is "Apocalyspe." The background music here is really dope, using some sort of weird opera-sounding sample. Whatever it is, it's dope. Nice lyrics, too.
"Surprise, I'm back with lightning and thunder, I heard you oversaying I'm a one-hit wonder."
"Arrival of the carnival,
new beats I never recycle."
Even this early in the album, it's clear that Wyclef is a decent emcee in his own right, even away from the Fugees.
"I turn an atheist into a God fearing believer."
He's pretty cocky, too (something that every dope emcee should be).
Next we have "Guantanamera." A song about Wyclef's encounters with a Hispanic girl, this one mixes in parts of an old Spanish tune. Again, Wyclef doesn't disappoint.
"If your name was Chun-Li, we'd be playing Street Fighter."
But, while Wyclef holds his own, make no doubt about it; the real highlight of this track is Lauryn Hill.
"Yo, she was a rose in Spanish Harlem
Mamasita beg your pardon
Make stakes at a faster rate then she fornicates
Pure traits of genius, Goddess of Black Venus
Crab niggas angry cuz they can't get between us
To no selection, smooth complexion
The lexicon of Lexington, parents came from Cuba
Part Mexican, pure sweet, dimes fell to her feet"
I think it's a safe bet to say that Lauryn has one of the nicest flows among rappers in the game today, male or female. She proves it in songs like this.
"She like Movado, and shook her hips like Delgado
And broke niggas down from the Grounds to Apollo
And then some, she took her act sent it to dempson
And waited patiently while the businessmen come
Call late on purpose, got even politicians nervous
And made plans to infiltrate the street secret service
This gentle flower, fertility was her power
Sweet persona, venus flytrap, prima donna
Que sera, que sera, she turns dinero to dinera"
Very nicely done, in my opinion. I can't wait for L's album next year. . . if the production's tight (like on The Score or The Carnival), nothing will be able to make it a disappointment.
An interlude (get used to these, there's lots of them) follows, entitled "Pablo Diablo." This one is sorta funny, with a character from East L.A. taking the stand against Wyclef and not really making any sense. But, like all of these interludes, it gets old fast. Skip over it.
Now is "Bubblegoose." I'm not sure what the title refers to, but what I am sure of is that this is a pretty darn cool song.
"'The friends will make you, then too can break you
They plan an execution like Fu Man Chu'
'Who?'
'You know, the character from channel 5 Kung-Fu'"
"You up in my face, I see the fear in your eyes You wanna feel the pain like a grown man gettin circumcised Shalom, shalom, pardon my left But my right hand's on your throat, massaging you to death"
"To All The Girls" (there's another interlude before this track which would be pointless to talk about, you've just gotta hear it for yourself) continues showcasing Wyclef's skills as a lyricist.
"I thought I had it figured out, but games don't last
The hourglass ran out, I got sprayed with the tear gas
Big men don't cry, hold my feelings inside
Stress brings me ulcers, I gotta hold my pride
When I see you with another guy, jealous thoughts of homicide
Call me selfish when I say Abraham has many wives
We even get to hear 'Clef pull his best Sugarhill Gang impression in this song:
"Hotel, motel, Holiday Inn
And if your girl acts up at the carnival,
Then you snatch her friend"
The interlude "Down Lo Ho" follows. I actually liked this one. Here, a whore-house owner is put on the stand, and like Pablo Diablo before him, makes completely no sense. The supposed whore house owner is actually a guy that appeared on a skit on The Score (remember the karate expert?).
Anyway, enough with the silly skits, "Anything Can Happen" is another dope cut. The lyrics pretty much deal with the fact that anything can happen (as if you couldn't have figured that out ny yourself).
"Feel this composition, it's a brand new dub
First thing I did, was went to the pub
Tequila with worm, lemon, salt, and no rocks
Cuz when it hits my chest, it gots to be hot"
"For you Silly Willy playin thug cartoon
My infrared scope got your movements on zoom
Boom new toon, write songs in my room
Sleeping with the bride, even though I ain't the groom"
The lyrics are right on throughout the song, as is the beat.
"Will the Knicks win the championship this year? Ha ha, say what, say what, anything can happen"
I don't know about that. . .
I didn't like "Gone Till November" very much. Not that it's lame. . . it's just not as good as some of the really good songs on this album. You might like it, I don't know. This is more of a sing-songy track than a real rap track, at least for most of the song.
"Year Of The Dragon," however, is just plain raw hip-hop at its best. This track is, in a word, dope. Of course, a big part of that is that L-Boogie herself, Lauryn Hill, is backing 'Clef up (no, I didn't forget the "Words of Wisdom" interlude, I just thought it wasn't worth commenting on).
"She seemed to reminisce over Wu-Tang, could it be so simple?"
And just listen to that voice! Damn.
"As the tale gets poetic
Watch the streets turn magnetic"
"Watch street corners turn into oases Young men aspire to be scarfaces In the year of the dragon, lots of men disappear As quiet as it's kept they won't be back next year"Wyclef isn't too shabby on here, either.
"I saw civilians runnin for their life
Like the devil on judgment day
Runnin from Christ"
On "Sang Fezi," Wyclef raps in Creole. This almost reminds me of something by, say, MC Solaar, in that I have no clue what's being said yet it sounds really good, anyway. Something about it is almost funny, in a weird sort of way. . . anyway, it's a great little song. Lauryn comes in at the end and shows that she not only is a great rapper but that she can also sing like nobody's business, too. Did I mention I really like Lauryn Hill?
"Mona Lisa" features the Neville Brothers. It's an okay song, with a nice laid back track, but nothing special.
"Street Jeopardy," however, is pretty special. I'm not sure who Wyclef is joined by on this one, but, whoever he is, he does a pretty good job.
"Not me, it could never happen to me
Professor says, what you wanna do? Sell drugs or get a degree?
Looked at him and smiled with 32 gold teeth
And said what you make in a year, I make it in a week"
"This street life'll get you if the hustle don't fit you
Paranoid crews don't choose, nigga stick you
Arms and foldin macks to ya back tryin 'a vick you
Belief in my crew wishin foes never get through"
Nice. . . very nice. I actually really liked the chorus to this one, too.
"It ain't no games like BDP
My 9mm go wa-da-da-da-dang hey hey"
I know I've said that I don't like the interludes, but I actually thought that "Killer M.C." was pretty cool. Wyclef is interviewing an "emcee that everyone is scared of" (Pras, of all people, plays the part).
"Don't believe the hype."
"We Trying To Stay Alive" is, of course, Wyclef's big hit. Using a background track that samples "Stayin Alive" by the BeeGees, it got tons of airplay on MTV and radio stations all across the country. But, to tell the truth, I don't like this song very much. The fact that it uses this same ol', same ol' Puffy-like sampling (which is anything but original, and seems more like theft than art to me) really turns me off, and the lyrics arenothing special, either. . . this song just screams "pop." It isn't too bad, and does fit in pretty well with the rest of the album, so perhaps I'm being too critical, but I just can't get into this one. I guess one all-out radio friendly song isn't too unforgivable of a sin when the rest of the album is as good as The Carnival is.
Now, "Gunpowder," this is a great song. It has a very Bob Marley sound to it. There's no real rapping in it, instead it's more of a reggae track. Still, it's still one of the album's highlights. I really liked this one.
"Two shots to the head, he was already dead."
Following "Gunpowder" are we have "Closing Arguments" and "Enter The Carnival," two more interludes. "Closing Arguments" follows the courtroom theme, while "Enter The Carnival" begins the album's conclusion. Here, "the Carnival is about to change phase." What follows are three more Creole tracks: "Jaspora," "Yele," and "Carnival." Like "Sang Fezi," I have no clue what Wyclef's saying, but they do sound good. "Jaspora" is particularly dope, with a dancehall feel to it, while "Yele" and "Carnival" aren't too bad, either. I should also note that none of the three are really "rap" tracks like "Sang Fezi" was; instead, Wyclef sings, or at least pulls some ragga-style raps.
Overall, there's not much to criticize about this album, and there's a lot to really like. Simply put, Wyclef has proven all of his critics wrong and released one of the best Hip-Hop albums of the year. I know that I personally thought that Lauryn Hill was the Fugees. I didn't think Wyclef would be able to pull off a solo album that even came close to The Score. Especially after hearing "We Trying To Stay Alive" a few times, I thought this would be nothing but pop-trash reminiscent of the majority of what's out now. I was completely wrong and almost slept on a great album.
Wyclef shocked me. This album didn't just surprise me by not being lame, it turned out to be absolutely excellent, easily rivaling (perhaps surpassing) the previous Fugees effort, The Score (which itself probably would've probably made my list for the Top Ten albums of '96). The Carnival is not without its filler, but it's possible to program around the 9 skits and have yourself a very solid, consistent, 15-track album. Although "Guantanamera," "Year Of The Dragon," "Gunpowder," and "Jaspora" struck me as being the best tracks, there's plenty of other songs on here that make for some great listening.
There's something for everyone on this one. Wyclef's rebel music is both convincing and accessible, which is a rare combination these days.
---Steve Clark
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