Wyclef Jean: Welcome to Haiti -- Creole 101

"Music, not politics, made Wyclef Jean a household name in Haiti and a multimillion-record-selling international star who has always proclaimed his Haitian origins. That was before he announced that he would run for president of Haiti. … Mr. Jean’s music positions him as a cultural unifier, merging pan-American sounds — particularly hip-hop, Jamaican reggae, Haitian compas and other Caribbean rhythms — to blend party tunes with political righteousness. At times he has reached for the mantle of … Bob Marley. … Mr. Jean’s 2004 album, 'Welcome to Haiti Creole 101,' includes a song called 'President,' timed to the United States presidential election. In it Mr. Jean rapped, 'Instead of spending billions on the war/I can use that money so I could feed the poor.' He also sang the chorus, 'If I was president/ I’d get elected on Friday, assassinated on Saturday, buried on Sunday/ Then go back to work on Monday'" (Jon Pareles, "From Musical Unity to the Political Kind," New York Times, 8/5/10).

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