Review:
Wyclef Jean is spoken of highly even among the masses, but doesn’t perform well on the charts. Despite being the biggest brain behind The Fugees’ self-titled album, he is less chart-worthy without Lauryn Hill. Even without her, though, his albums are more respectable (musically) than most rap, but his best qualities remain his smarts and his decency, the latter being a likely reason for the poor sales.
While From The Hut, To The Projects, To The Mansion seems like his sixth release, Wyclef has promoted it as an EP, which is odd, since it contains 17 songs and even has a theme. The album is based on the story of the leader of the Haitian Revolution, Toussaint L’ouverture, whose story is intertwined with Jean’s struggle to reach ‘The Mansion’. While it does seem a tad lofty, Wyclef executes the concept in a moderately-serious fashion and doesn’t bother implying that L’ouverture is his second identity.
In fact, some of the songs deal with mistaken identity. In ‘Warrior’s Anthem’, he jokes about being mistaken for Will.I.Am, and in ‘The Streets Pronounced Me Dead’, he makes a strong case for why Akon hasn’t ‘replaced him’. But never does he claim to be better than anyone.
Instead, he gives tells you what you’re missing out on if you pay him no attention, presenting himself as the poster boy of non-violence in rap – ‘Went to sleep in the pond, woke up with the ducks / And this ain't gangsta talk, I don't talk the talk / I suggest you walk or get outlined in chalk.’ Clef’s main concerns are working through poverty, dreaming the dream and (as always) world politics.
The album’s also divided into stories of the hut, projects and the mansion, the last of which is by far the trashiest. A reasonable explanation for this is that Clef himself is uncomfortable singing about his success or ‘Robotic Love’ on the Timbaland-produced club song. The only time he makes good on this side of the album is in ‘We Made It’, where he quickly runs through the changes his life has taken.
The album isn’t as lavishly produced as his LPs, but is certainly much more than an EP. And if Wyclef Jean still thinks this isn’t good enough for a proper release, it’s a positive sign of things to come.
