Wyclef Describes How The Fugees Came To Be, Meeting Lauryn Hill, Working w/ Salaam Remi [Video]

Wyclef Jean and Nick Huff Barili of Hard Knock TV sit down at SXSW for in depth conversation about Wyclef’s career. In part 2, Wyclef talks about how The Fugees originally came to be when Pras introduced Clef to Lauryn Hill and Marcy, who later left the group. Wyclef tells story of how at the time when Pras told him that he had a band with two girls, Clef was more interested in what the girls looked like than actually being in the band because he was a teenage boy. Wyclef states that someone that doesn’t get enough credit for the early days of The Fugees is Khalis Bayyan original producer for Kool & The Gang, who is the first producer to have The Fugees in the studio and recognize that there was magic there, helping them craft the album which eventually became Blunted on Reality. Clef goes on to explain how the groups diverse individual musical backgrounds all combined to make what eventually became the Fugees sound. As the interview continues Clef tells stories about how The Fugees debut album Blunted on Reality was a commercial failure and how their label Sony didn’t know what to do with them. Clef adds that working with Salaam Remi helped them simplify their sound going into their sophomore album The Score which was recorded in The Booga Basement. Check out the video for much more. We are just getting started. Tune in Wednesday for part 3 of Nick’s conversation with Wyclef! Wyclef

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Ikey – Green Card [Free EP]

Meet Harlem-born, Nigeria-raised musician Ikey and check out his new project “Green Card” below. Ikey’s music ranges from introspective optimism on “Olodo” and “Roslin’s Basement” to socially conscious concepts on “Timbuktu” and “When We Were Kings.” Having fought to get his mother a green card years ago, the EP reflects on the belief that a green card will be a person’s ticket to the American Dream. “Since everyone is looking for that one come up, I felt like they’d be able to relate to this theme. Everyone is chasing a dream,” Ikey explained to Complex. On growing up in Nigeria, he added that “Lagos is a very huge city. One of the biggest cities in Africa. To me it’s very similar to a lot of cities across America but if I had to compare I would say it’s a smaller, dirtier version of New York. It has it’s nice spots and fucked up spots.” Download: Ikey – Green Card

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