Serial Hit-maker & Front Man Of The Legendary Fugees; Wyclef Jean Returns To The Music Scene With His Sixth Studio Album, Check Out My Review Below.

Wyclef Jean - Carnival Vol. II Memoirs Of An Immigrant

Track List

  1. Intro

  2. Riot
  3. Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)
  4. Welcome To The East
  5. Slow Down
  6. King and Queen
  7. Fast Car
  8. What About The Baby
  9. Hollywood Meets Bollywood
  10. Any Other Day
  11. Heaven's In New York
  12. Selina
  13. Touch A Button/ Carnival Jam
  14. Outro
  15. On Tour (Bonus Track)
  16. China Wine (Bonus Track)


From the offset Carnival Vol II shows us the multi-genre nature of this album, Riot is a high tempo, energetic introduction for what is to come. Not so hot on the lyrical content, but the changing, vibrant production does get your attention & gives a solid start to a solid album.

To be honest, that is really enough to sum up this album, it is not a classic, but it does have a longevity to it that will last a get you listening again & again. I found myself almost getting frustrated with this record, at some points I was really feeling the sound & got absorbed by the whole package. Tracks such as Sweetest Girl (the first single) & the Shakira collaboration King & Queen are extremely radio friendly while remaining very enjoyable. While songs like Any Other Day, featuring Norah Jones, made me reach for the skip button on my iPod.

Still, I cannot say that I am not enjoying this album, I really don't want to hate on it, because it is very solid, entertaining & musically strong. With production values from the likes of Akon, Will.i.am & Wyclef himself, The Carnival Vol II really brings some inventiveness & creativeness that builds the signature sound of this album. Hollywood Meets Bollywood is the ultimate example of this, with the very cool Desi-Beats sound of the UK Asian scene & the unmistakable vocals of Chamillionaire they create a special kind of 'club-banger' that makes my favorite up-tempo from the record.

But I can say without a doubt that my top tune of the album is made up from a huge collaboration that has proved hugely successful before. What About The Baby re-unites Wyclef with Mary J Blige for a huge song, powerful lyrics, smooth beats & huge vocals create something magical. Almost a match for the pairs last track 911.

On another good note, Wyclef introduces a lot of collaborations from relative unknown artists (unknown to me anyway), which I always think is very commendable. However one of these tracks is the slightly out of place Touch Your Button, after a lot of listens I cannot 'get' this track, I understand the carnival feel, but it does nothing for me. Maybe it should have been a bonus track?
Generally, I am really liking this record, a hot pick for the year, but not the best. I have been anticipating Wyclef's return to music for a minute & have not been disappointed. Could & should have been better IMO, but when this record gets it right, you can feel the tingles in your spine, always a good sing of a winner.

7/10
(new scoring system)