I'm a Wyclef stan. While on The Score he pretty much just made me laugh with his crazy off-kilter and free barely-rhyming. But I loved it. While Pras was off ... um ... doing whatever he was doing every third verse and Lauryn was redefining the art of intrinsic rhyming, Clef played the role of the court jester who obviously had skills, yet seemed bored with any and all semblance of convention. And once the Fugees split, he's been on an absolute tear ever since in regularly providing his fans with new product.
Wyclef Jean - Riot (feat. Serj Tankian & Sizzla)
He's got six (and soon to be seven) solo albums to go with the two and a half Fugee records. And I proudly own a physical copy of every one of them. His latest offering from '07 was The Carnival, Vol. II and he capitalized on all his amazing music connections with this one. Don't hold me to it, but I'd say Clef's got a better collaborative posse than Wayne, Akon, or any other hip hop artist out there. Besides collaboing with those two titans I just mentioned, do these names mean anything to you: T.I., Shakira, Paul Simon, Mary J. Blige, Chamillionaire, Norah Jones, will.i.am, or Raekwon? That's just this one album ...
But this "Riot" song specifically, that's what kills me. I'm an undercover System of a Down junkie and I think Serj has one of the greatest voices in all of history. And when two musical geniuses come together like this who are 100% different stylistically and still produce a classic product, it makes me very, very happy. It should make you feel like that, too.
... but do take my word for it.
Showing posts with label Pras. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pras. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Classic: Riot
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Classic: Ready or Not
While their Roberta Flack cover of “Killing Me Softly With His Song” deserving got the majority of the attention on The Score, there was another song that blew me away more towards the beginning of the album.
The Fugees are beyond legendary. I don’t think anyone really knows what’s going on with Pras at any given rhyme, but Wyclef and Lauryn are pivotal figures in cultural music. Period. Their rhythms are strictly and singularly theirs. Clef brings Haiti with him in every syllable while Ms. Hill carries all women and real people on her back. Needless to say, I got both of Lauryn’s undeniably classic solo efforts as well as all six of Wyclef’s solo albums.
"Ready or Not" is as catchy a song as you're ever going to hear. And not just because it features that same exact sample as that one Mario Winans song that you actually know all the words to. This is the vocal performance that made me fall in love with Lauryn Hill for all of eternity. And yet she still comes harder on her verse than your favorite thug rapper? Dang. I also included the Bootleg Versions remix of the track for kicks. And the aforementioned absolutely murder the remix as well. You don't even know.
... put 'em both together and you got yourself a super spork.
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