Wyclef Jean on his ‘Purpose,’ Haiti, music & Lauryn Hill

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Hour 2

WYCLEF JEAN is a musician, actor, producer, and activist who was born and raised in Haiti and moved with his family to New York when he was nine years old. He learned English from American rap music and founded the hip hop group The Fugees with Lauryn Hill and his cousin Pras. The trio broke up after winning worldwide fame with their 1996 album, “The Score,” and its global smash, “Killing Me Softly.” Wyclef continued a successful solo career and achieved another global hit as producer of Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” in 2006. He founded a Haitian aid organization, Yele, and, after a January 2010 earthquake ravaged Haiti, announced he would run for President of Haiti. That bid was denied because he hadn’t lived in the country since he was a child, and his charitable foundation came under criticism for financial mismanagement. Now, in a new book “Purpose: An Immigrant’s Story,” Wyclef talks about Haiti, his journey, and especially about the torrid extramarital affair with Lauryn Hill that he says fueled “The Score” but broke up The Fugees.


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Photo Credit: AP Images / Steve Ruark

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