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Wyclef
Jean
The Elecftic: 2 Sides II A Book
By Carla Robinson
Wyclef Jean treated us to the international flavor of a world feast on his first
solo project, The Carnival. But his sophomore effort, the pretentiously titled The
Ecleftic: 2 Sides II A Book, isn't as impressive. It features some solid arrangements and
Clef gets busy with the rhymes, but the theme wears thin after a few spins and the whole
project comes across as cocky rather than assured.
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The roster of guest appearances on Ecleftic reads like a list of invitees
to a Puff Daddy party. Only Martha Stewart and Donald Trump are missing, and I would say
it's because they don't sing, but then, neither does The Rock and he's featured on
"It Doesn't Matter." It's no coincidence that the best song on the disc is the
heavily rotated "911," featuring Mary J. Blige, who actually sings rather than
just shout the hook. Jean seems to really want to impress us with his reach, calling on
such heavies as Kenny Rogers and Whitney Houston to make forgettable contributions.
On "Kenny Rogers - Pharoahe Monch Dub Plate," with Rogers singing a Wyclef-ized
hook from "The Gambler" over Monch's 1999 "Simon Says," Jean raps
"country meets rap . I'm about to break all format." So what? Marrying hip-hop
with other musical genres is nothing new, and he mastered it beautifully on The Carnival.
With Ecleftic, he diminishes that, settling for telling instead of showing. It's like that
old saying, if you have to brag about how good you are in bed, you probably aren't. M
December 2000
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