Wyclef Jean has announced the release of his first full-length album in eight years, CARNIVAL III: THE FALL AND RISE OF A REFUGEE, out September 15 via Legacy Recordings and Sony Mud. The album features contributions from Emeli Sandé, Supah Mario, The Knocks, and Lunch Money Lewis. The release coincides with the 20th anniversary of Wyclef’s critically acclaimed debut album THE CARNIVAL.
“My CARNIVAL albums have always been about celebrating music culture from all parts of the world and CARNIVAL III is no different,” says Wyclef. “It's outside the box. There’s genre-bending. There’s new talent on there. CARNIVAL III is more than just an album. It’s a celebration of what I love about music: discovery, diversity and artistry for art’s sake... It's about putting music together that will outlive me and live on for generations to come that is full of emotion, vibration and fun. Get ready."
In 2016, Wyclef was back yet again with another hit, ‘Hendrix,’ the first single off of his EP, J’OUVERT. ‘Hendrix’ garnered over 20 million streams worldwide. Wyclef’s influence on the new generation is evident with the creative connection with Young Thug, who named a track on mixtape, JEFFERY, ‘Wyclef Jean’. The two musicians teamed up to record the Caribbean-inspired ‘I Swear,’ the third single off of J’OUVERT.
As big a comeback as ‘Hendrix’ and ‘I Swear’ have proven to be, one should not count on FALL AND RISE OF A REFUGEE as being an entire album full of mid-tempo tracks. ‘Do I have anything for the clubs?’ he asks. “You’re talking to THE CARNIVAL Man! I’ve done the biggest dance records of all time! I plan to put them on the dancefloor more so than ever. I know people want that dancefloor bounce from me — that hip hop thing.”
The music that Wyclef Jean has written, performed, and produced — both as a solo superstar and as founder and guiding member of the Fugees — has been a consistently powerful, pop cultural force for over two decades. In 1996, The Fugees released their monumental album THE SCORE. As a solo artist, he has released six albums that have sold nearly nine million copies worldwide, including his 1997 debut THE CARNIVAL and 2000’s aptly titled THE ECLECTIC: 2 SIDES II A BOOK.
TRACKLISTING
1. Slums (feat. Jazzy Amra, H1DaHook & Marx Solvila)
2. Turn Me Good
3. Borrowed Time
4. Fela Kuti (Fela Ransome-Kuti & The Africa)
5. Warrior (feat. T-Baby)
6. Shotta Boys (feat. STIX)
7. Double Dutch (feat. D.L. Hughley & Eric Nimmer)
8. What Happened To Love (feat. Lunch Money Lewis and The Knocks)
9. Carry On (feat. Emile Sandé)
10. Concrete Rose (feat. Hannah Eggen and Izolan)
11. Trapicabana (feat. Riley)
12. Thank God For The Culture (feat. Marx Solvila, J'Mika, & Leon Lacey)
Album Available on iTunes Here