Clef: What do yall think?

strategy786 · Post by **strategy786** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 6:00 am

On the subject of annoying hip-hop personalities, I'd rank Wyclef Jean somewhere approaching other clowns like Pufffy and Solar. Of course he didn't downgrade the entire hip-hop game or destroy the life of one of our greatest emcees, but like them, he is for me a hugely irritating buffoon whose music today is total garbage.

However unlike the two above, I think he was actually pretty dope at one point. Now I know many people say that Lauryn was the only talent in the Fugees and Clef and Pras were 100% awful. But I never totally agreed and tonight I just happened to be digging around in the wax and ran across this "Fugee-La" Refugee Camp Remix. I had forgotten how dope it is. Give it a listen...
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DivShare File - 03 Fu-Gee-La _Refugee Camp Remix_.mp3

Wyclef took the primary production credit for the lovely beat and he's kinda nice with his verse. Setting aside some of his goofy antics on the mic, when he got serious with his writing he was pretty dope to me... intelligent content and flows. At this time (1995), he was at least a decent, if not rather dope emcee. (Of course Lauryn was still in another league from him.)

But what is the story behind the Fugees production back then? Was Wyclef the one who made it dope? A lot of their really dope beats, including the above, say "Produced by Wyclef and Lauren." Was Wyclef or Lauren really that tight on the boards? Some of those beats really, really knock (see "Ready Or Not"). All the beats also list "Co-Produced by Prakazrel 'Pras' & Jerry 'Te Bass' Duplessis." Who was really the production wiz amongst all that? Was Jerry Duplessis adding the secret sauce while playing the background? The production on first album (Blunted On Reality) was seriously lame and it was mostly Wyclef and Pras. If it was Wyclef who really flexed the mature and fat production on The Score, than I have to give it up to him. (Which would beg the another question? Why is he so terrible now?).

Anyways... lots of questions. If yall have insights or thoughts please share them.

step one · Post by **step one** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 6:06 am

save for a couple of early tracks the guy is a complete cunt and was involved in some truly awful records in the early 00s

8ks · Post by **8ks** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 7:10 am

step one wrote:save for a couple of early tracks the guy is a complete cunt and was involved in some truly awful records in the early 00s

true that, but i really enjoy his work involved with the fugees.

vermillion · Post by **vermillion** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 7:20 am

He honestly has maybe 1 or 2 verses I would consider good..

bbatson1 · Post by **bbatson1** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 12:15 pm

Wyclef is the shit from the start of the fugees through his first album. I think all his stuff on the fugees album is as good as lauren. I'm a pras fan too though lol. I think all three held it down on the second album but i agree lauren did shine on it. But nobody was below par. I think lauren is the weak link on the first one at times

. His solo the carnival is an absolute no doubt classic to me. Anything after that is cornball shit. And i agree he seems like a douchebag.

As for the production.. i think in the brian coleman book check the technique they touch on the production for that fugees album.

Blockhead · Post by **Blockhead** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 5:45 pm

He was a great producer and mediocre to terrible rapper depending on the era.
His first solo album had great beats but i could never really get past him as the main mc on any album. But i think "The Score" is a great album and slept on in the sense that people don't really think of it as an important album but that shit was HUGE (NH).

I Smell Like Un Kasa · Sat Jun 19, 2010 6:35 pm

bbatson1 wrote:. His solo the carnival is an absolute no doubt classic to me. Anything after that is cornball shit.

Totally agree, I revisited this CD awhile back and was very impressed. Aside from the first Fugees album, I never had a problem with Clef on the mic. These tracks never get old:

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Jonny · Post by **Jonny** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 8:05 pm

The Carnival is a dope fucking record. The Score is a great record. Never got into Blunted or any of his other records.

Thirteen · Post by **Thirteen** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 10:10 pm

decent mc, produced some great tracks. best than mst

strategy786 · Post by **strategy786** » Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:47 am

bbatson1 wrote: As for the production.. i think in the brian coleman book check the technique they touch on the production for that fugees album.

So what does it say? That's really what I'm curious about as far as the Score. I have a hard time imagining that Wyclef was the production wiz behind that. Most of the beats are split credited between Wyclef/Lauryn/Pras/Jerry Dupleissis. It sounds like there's a lot more to that story.

My guess is that the secret to the sound was Jerry גWonderג Duplessis http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233351). But maybe I'm being stubborn about giving the brother his due, just cause he seems like a moron to me.[/url]

Thun · Post by **Thun** » Mon Jun 21, 2010 10:12 am

The Score is garbage. It's just everybody is afraid to recognize it and admit it.

stype_ones · Post by **stype_ones** » Mon Jun 21, 2010 11:05 am

Thun wrote:The Score is garbage. It's just everybody is afraid to recognize it and admit it.

I agree. Take the title track and Ready or Not off, and it might as well not exist. I won't lie, I dug Killin' Me Softly on a certain level that spring/summer. More because as a DJ it would get the party jumpin a bit and every girl would sweat me to play it at house parties. But overall, people call that album a classic and that is one of the most

statements of all time.

cenzi · Post by **cenzi** » Mon Jun 21, 2010 12:34 pm

Clef is one of those dudes that I will check in on. No homo. Simply put the music on and play, skip, play, skip, play.. paaause... skip, play, skip.

I might find a gem and IF I do, I will immediately look for the instrumental version.

cenzi · Post by **cenzi** » Mon Jun 21, 2010 12:40 pm

favorite tracks are:

Nappy Heads
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Apocalypse (but I like mainly because I sampled this shit too, years before his ass did)
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Vocab
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pretty sad he has a shitload of albums and I aint heard of even half

* 1997: The Carnival (Columbia)
* 2000: The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book (Columbia)
* 2002: Masquerade (Columbia)
* 2003: Greatest Hits (Columbia)
* 2003: The Preacher's Son (J)
* 2004: Welcome to Haiti: Creole 101 (Koch)
* 2007: Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant (Columbia)
* 2009: From the Hut, To the Projects, To the Mansion (Columbia)
* 2010: Wyclef Jean (Columbia)[18]

Blockhead · Post by **Blockhead** » Mon Jun 21, 2010 2:10 pm

Thun wrote:The Score is garbage. It's just everybody is afraid to recognize it and admit it.

I wish i thought it was garbage. The fan base alone makes me wanna hate it, but that's a very good album (not a classic at all though) Kinda surprised you're THAT dismissive of it.

bbatson1 · Post by **bbatson1** » Mon Jun 21, 2010 4:03 pm

strategy786 wrote:
bbatson1 wrote: As for the production.. i think in the brian coleman book check the technique they touch on the production for that fugees album.
So what does it say? That's really what I'm curious about as far as the Score. I have a hard time imagining that Wyclef was the production wiz behind that. Most of the beats are split credited between Wyclef/Lauryn/Pras/Jerry Dupleissis. It sounds like there's a lot more to that story.

My guess is that the secret to the sound was Jerry גWonderג Duplessis http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233351). But maybe I'm being stubborn about giving the brother his due, just cause he seems like a moron to me.[/url]

I'll find where i put the book tonight and let you know what it says.

Y@k Bollocks · Post by **Y@k Bollocks** » Mon Jun 21, 2010 5:11 pm

Would rather listen to Mindbender.

Teddy C.D. · Post by **Teddy C.D.** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 3:37 am

bbatson1 wrote:Wyclef is the shit from the start of the fugees through his first album. I think all his stuff on the fugees album is as good as lauren. I'm a pras fan too though lol. I think all three held it down on the second album but i agree lauren did shine on it. But nobody was below par. I think lauren is the weak link on the first one at times

. His solo the carnival is an absolute no doubt classic to me. Anything after that is cornball shit. And i agree he seems like a douchebag.

As for the production.. i think in the brian coleman book check the technique they touch on the production for that fugees album.

Co-sign this almost 100%, but I don't think Lauryn can ever be considered the weak link with Pras in the group and Wyclef seems alright as a person to me, what with his Haiti relief, etc. I haven't listened to anything he made past The Carnival, though, and the singles I've heard on TV/radio from him in the 2000's were pretty terrible...

I also thought Pras was decent on The Score, and Wyclef's rapping made The Score for me (in addition to Lauryn Hill). I'm a pretty huge fan of that album--bona fide classic. That was clearly a group effort and the three of them meshed really well. I never understood how you can completely rule out a rapper when it's a collective team effort.

paul_smith · Post by **paul_smith** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 3:49 am

I Love The Score.Album is amazing to me with it's stellar production and Lauryn obliterating tracks.And I really enjoyed Wyclef's style on that album, he was just plain dope.From the eerie intro to How Many Mics, to great verses like on Fu-Gee-La, he sounded great to me.

As for the Carnival, I kind of expected it to be doper, being released not much after the score.Year of The Dragon is an amazing joint though!

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Oh and I really found Blunted on Reality hard to listen to.Save for the remixes (of Mona Lisa, Vocab...), I really didn't like anything on the album