Track Listing
1. Intro/Court/Clef/Intro (Interlude) - (skit)
2. Apocalypse
3. Guantanamera - (featuring Celia Cruz/Jeni Fujita)
4. Pablo Diablo (Interlude) - (featuring Crazy Sam/Talent)
5. Bubblegoose - (featuring Melky Sedeck)
6. Prelude to "To All the Girls" (Interlude)
7. To All the Girls
8. Down lo Ho (Interlude) - (featuring Talent/Will)
9. Anything Can Happen
10. Gone till November
11. Words of Wisdom (Interlude)
12. Year of the Dragon - (featuring Lauryn Hill)
13. Sang Fezi - (featuring Lauryn Hill)
14. Fresh Interlude
15. Mona Lisa - (featuring The Neville Brothers)
16. Street Jeopardy - (featuring John Forte/R.O.C.)
17. Killer M.C. (Interlude) - (featuring Pras)
18. We Trying to Stay Alive - (featuring John Forte/Pras)
19. Gunpowder - (featuring Lauryn Hill)
20. Closing Arguments (Interlude) - (skit, featuring Talent/Will)
21. Enter the Carnival (Interlude)
22. Jaspora
23. Yele - (featuring Lauryn Hill/Joel Servilus)
24. Carnival - (featuring Sweet Mickey/Jacob Desvarieux/Jocelyn Berouard)
| Details | | Contributing Artists: | Celia Cruz, Crazy Sam, Funkmaster Flex, Jacob Desvarieux, Jeni Fujita, Jocelyn Berouard, Joel Servilus, John Forte, Judy Mowatt, Lauryn Hill, Marcia Griffiths, Melky Sedeck, Pras, R.O.C., Rita Marley, Sweet Mickey, Talent, The Neville Brothers, Will | | Distributor: | Sony Music Distribution ( | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
Full performer name: Wyclef Jean Featuring Refugee Allstars.
Wyclef Jean Featuring Refugee Allstars: Wyclef Jean (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Prakazrel "Pras", Lauryn Hill, John Forte, Melky Sedeck.
I Threes: Rita Marley, Marcia Griffith, Judy Mowatt (background vocals).
Additional personnel includes: Jerry "Te Bass" Duplessis (bass); Funkmaster Flex, DJ Skribble (scratches); Joel Servilus (background vocals); Celia Cruz, The Neville Brothers, Crazy Sam, Talent, Will, R.O.C., Sweet Mickey, Jacob Desvavieux, Jocelyn Berouard, Jeni Fujita.
Producers include: Wyclef, Salaam Remi, Prakazrel "Pras".
THE CARNIVAL was nominated for a 1998 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. "Guantanamera" was nominated for a 1998 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group.
"Gone Till November" was nominated for a 1999 Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance.
The Fugees are one of the few hip-hop groups who successfully blend elements of other musical genres with rap. Their multi-platinum album THE SCORE reached audiences all over the world due to its universal appeal. Wyclef Jean (1/3 of the Fugees) delves even deeper into his personal well of creative musicality on THE CARNIVAL, his solo debut.
As a producer, Wyclef doesn't just sample records. He takes a pre-existing track and uses it as a foundation, building up layers of complex textures. Not many hip-hoppers would try rapping over the Bee Gees classic "Staying Alive," but Wyclef does it on "We Trying To Stay Alive" and makes it work. "Guatanamera," which features the vocals of Celia Cruz, takes an old Latin folk song and turns it into a totally contemporary piece. Full of inventive musicianship and devoid of hip-hop cliches, THE CARNIVAL is an impressive next step in the development of rap.
Editorial Reviews
Included in Rolling Stone's Essential Recordings of the 90's.
Rolling Stone (05/13/1999)
Ranked #16 in the Village Voice's 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.
Village Voice (02/24/1998)
4 Mics (out of 5) - ...It seems like the Refugee Camp can do no wrong....Wyclef sounds equally comfortable and effortlessly able to fuse his wide range of musical influences into the context of hip-hop music...
The Source (08/01/1997)
...Anything can--and does--happen....'Clef brings the Port-au-Prince to Armegeddon....Jean, your guitar is our salvation...
Rap Pages (08/01/1997)
...THE CARNIVAL rates above most contemporary discs by being an actual body of compositions, not just a collection of songs....THE CARNIVAL is 'Clef wiggling his Haitian butt on a world stage and subliminally explaining his Hendrix fixation...
Vibe (08/01/1997)
4.5 Stars (out of 5) - ...Wyclef Jean is pushing hip-hop into an international, multicultural milieu by mining his Carribean roots. For Wyclef and his native culture, the carnival is a place where `anything can happen...'
Rolling Stone
8 (out of 10) - ...A savvy raptivist, Wyclef's reaching for both pop superstardom and rebel cred. It's hard to tell if that will be his downfall or his biggest asset....Still, Wyclef is a master producer and Dr. Dre in any genre...
Spin (08/01/1997)
...a dizzying, invigorating midway of thick rhythms, canny arrangements, comic set-pieces, and a winning blend of song styles from all over the Western hemisphere....nearly every track mixes some sounds of tradition with thoroughly modern hip-hop sonics...
Musician (10/01/1997)
3 stars out of 5 - ...Jean's warm voice and acoustic guitar just about hold the center and each play unveils something previously unnoticed. What a fertile man Wyclef Jean is.
Q (06/01/2000)
Writer, arranger, singer, producer, musician, MC, linguist--is there no end to the talents of Fugee member Wyclef Jean?....All indulgent hiatus side projects should be this accomplished.
Entertainment Weekly (07/18/1997)
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