Wyclef Jean Celebrates 25th Anniversary Of Bestselling Album ‘The Carnival’

When Wyclef Jean’s The Carnival was released in 1997 the world took notice. The album, with the Refugee Allstars, also featured Celia Cruz and Lauryn Hill on “Guantanamera,” and the New York Philharmonic on Billboard hit “Gone Till November.” It also was one of those classic albums with an actual intro narrative track, which set up the story of the album.

At the time, Wyclef was one of the world’s biggest and most in-demand stars. He had already written The Score with the Fugees, one of the best selling albums of all time. The Carnival was Wyclef’s first solo album after finding success with The Fugees. This landmark collection delivered.

On the 25th anniversary of the iconic album and just days before a live-streamed concert to commemorate the album- and a stop at Essence Fest in New Orleans – Wyclef reminisced on the album.

“”When I created The Carnival album my idea was to show, through my music, a world without borders,” said the writer and producer. “Twenty-five years later, please join me and let’s celebrate the culture!”

Released on June 24, 1997, the album went on to garner three Grammy Award nominations, Best Rap Album and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group (“Guantanamera”) in 1998 and Best Rap Solo Performance (“Gone Till November”) in 1999. The July 3 live-streamed concert will be broadcast from New Orleans’ Toulouse Theatre at 9 p.m. EST on Twitch: Twitch.tv/AmazonMusic.

Since The Carnival, Wyclef released eight solo albums and raised millions in donations for his birth country of Haiti.

In this age of streaming everything, I personally had forgotten that I owned – and still own – hard copies of all of Wyclef’s music. All I have to do is dig out those boxes of old CDs, However, AmazonAMZN
music is capitalizing on this moment by curating a “ReDiscover Wyclef” experience. Among the tracks listed on the 25-song playlist are those by Clef himself and those with the Fugees, Mary J. Blige, Destiny’s Child and Santana.