Masquerade

by Wyclef Jean

Overview

Wyclef Jean prides himself on having a vision, which he does. Few of his peers are as determined to appeal to as broad an audience as a possible, dabbling in everything from ragga to sugary pop, tying it all together as a self-conscious "big statement." His ambition has been clear since The Score, if not the Fugees' debut, and with each of his post-Fugees solo projects, he's worked with the same basic template -- a lot of pop, a lot of hip-hop, reggae, and worldbeat touches, lots of social consciousness, a little does of party anthems, all produced with enough gloss and melody to reach a wide audience, yet with enough NPR sensibility to bring in the serious-minded progressives, no matter their age. If anything, he perhaps tipped a little bit too close to the pop last time around, letting Kenny Rogers in for a new version of "The Gambler," so the first part of his third album, Masquerade, feels like a bit of an overcorrection, as he toughens up the beats, brings in the hard(er) rappers, and aims to the street. Then, after the point has been made, it settles into a Marley-esque reggae groove, before easing into pop for a while, then winding up back in Marley territory with "War No More." Throughout it all, Jean's musical skill is impressive and most of this long, 20-track album is quite pleasurable, but his skills as a recordmaker waver on occasion. The primary problem is that Wyclef wants to be everything to all people, so he'll hit too hard on the hip-hop, then back way up and invite Tom Jones into the studio for a new, not very good, version of "What's New, Pussycat," while rewriting Frankie Valli ("Oh What a Night") and Dylan ("Knocking on Heaven's Door," which now contains shoutouts "to Biggie Smalls and 2Pac...to my people in the twin towers") with equal abandon. He pushes too hard on sermonizing, no matter if it's pompous pleas to the ghettos or heartfelt laments (a spoken tribute to his recently passed father, "War No More," a "Redemption Song"-styled protest song with the unforgettable line, "this looks like a scene from the movie Star Wars"), which offsets the lighter tracks. Instead of sounding generous and openhearted, it's a bit muddled and confusing, especially when taken all at once -- but when isolated in parts, or heard in passing, it's an enjoyable record. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	06/18/2002
Label:	Columbia
UPC:	0696998654228

Tracks

1. Message to the Streets
2. Peace God
3. PJ's
4. 80 Bars
5. Masquerade
6. 1-800-Henchman (Spoken Word)
7. You Say Keep It Gangsta
8. Party Like I Party
9. Oh What a Night
10. Hot 93.1 (Spoken Word)
11. Pussycat
12. Midnight Lovers
13. Two Wrongs
14. Instant Request
15. Thug Like Me
16. Daddy
17. Knockin' on Heaven's Door
18. The Eulogy
19. War No More
20. The Mix Show
21. MVP Kompa
22. Ghetto Racine

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Wyclef Jean   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Keyboards
Melky Sedeck   Guest Artist
Miri   Featured Artist
Tom Jones   Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Bumpy Knuckles   Featured Artist,Vocals
Prolific   Featured Artist
Sharissa   Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Butch Cassidy   Featured Artist,Vocals
Ja Rah Rah   Featured Artist
Claudette Ortiz   Featured Artist,Vocals
Governor   Featured Artist,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
M.O.P.   Guest Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals
Melky   Featured Artist
Jennifer Hamady   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Donald Guillaume   Drums
Teflon   Keyboards,Vocals (Background)
Big E   Vocals
Cory Rooney   Strings
Erick Edwards   Vocals
Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis   Bass
Miri Ben-Ari   Violin
Yami Bolo   Vocals
Robert Aaron   Keyboards,Saxophone
Mary Brown   Vocals (Background)
Felipe Luciano   Vocals

Technical Credits

Tim Ronaghan   Assistant Engineer
Jessica Harley   Executive Producer
Chris Sutter   Assistant Engineer
Kevin Myers   Mixing,Engineer
Giorgio Armani   Wardrobe
Veronica Fletcher   Hair Stylist
Sean Taylor   A&R
Peter Wade   Overdubs
Teflon   Composer,Producer
Andy Grassi   Mixing,Overdubs
Big E   A&R
Bob Dylan   Composer
Cory Rooney   Producer
Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis   Composer,Producer,Executive Producer
Craig Durrance   Assistant Engineer
Chris Testa   Assistant Engineer
Wyclef Jean   Score,Composer,Producer,Executive Producer
Burt Bacharach   Composer
Joe Yannece   Mastering
Jason Dale   Assistant Engineer
Patrick Woodward   Assistant Engineer
Nitin Vadukul   Photography
Julian Alexander   Design,Art Direction
Farel Jean   Executive Producer
Evan Rossiter   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Dale Penco   Assistant Engineer