“Anything Can Happen” has ‘Clef flowing nicely over a playful horn sample as he explores the myriad of possibilities in this life–even The Knicks winning the championship. “To All The Girls” features a nice, funk bassline as ‘Clef apologizes to all the women he hurt due to his infidelities. Wyclef shows some of his guitar skills on “Bubblegoose,” as he takes a page from Jimi Hendrix’s book as he sings the same notes he play on the guitar. This is undoubtedly one of the best three songs on The Carnival. The chorus is absolutely beautiful and addictive on this one, and Lauryn Hill even kicks in a verse (which may have beeen better than ‘Clef’s). A Penny for your thoughts, a nickel for your kiss If your name was Chun-Li, we’d be playing Street Fighter Like a virgin, so she sex with no average monįly like a butterfly, let your soul feel her glide She went from a young girl to a grown woman Remind me of an old Latin song my uncle used to play I asked her what’s her name, she said ‘Guantanamera’ “Yo, I wrote this in Haiti, overlooking Cuba The intro sounds like one belonging to an upbeat oldie, but the mood changes when the booming beat kicks in and ‘Clef narrates his tale of love. “Guantanamera” interpolates the song of the same title, performed by the late Celia Cruz. The song is so good that it’s even forgivable when Wyclef raps “Arrival of The Carnival, new beats I never recycle/While you were looking for samples, you might get trampled.” He never recycles? I’m hoping this was a joke of some sort as Wyclef and his ReFugee cohorts were notorious for sampling/interpolating both before and since the release of this album (see “Killing Me Softly,” with the Fugees, or his solo interpretation of “Wish You Were Here”). “Apocalypse” incorporates a soaring, operatic female vocal over a laid-back bass and drum line as Wyclef rhymes the verses and sings/raps the chorus. This album is at its best when Wyclef is at his most creative. Infact, titling this album The Carnival is by no means a misnomer Wyclef treats us to a little bit of everything on this album Wyclef’s diverse musical tastes–undoubtedly a result of his upbringing in Haiti, Brooklyn and New Jersey–shine brightly throughout The Carnival, and it comes off as an honest attempt to create the very musics which inspire him. That being said, I must say that I am actually a fan of this album because I favor music which blurs the constraining lines of definition. The second flaw I mentioned, the skits, are so unbearable that I will give some bold advice right now and say that if you haven’t yet heard this album, one could easily skip the following tracks and not miss a beat (pardon the pun): 1, 4, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20 and 21. He’s not a very good rapper (though not horrible), but he has an exceptional singing voice, is a talented guitar player, and constructed many addictive beats for this album. The former, believe it or not, may be the easier obstacle for Wyclef to overcome. Let’s be thankful that Wyclef is talented enough to make The Carnival a very good album despite two glaring flaws: Firstly, he’s not a particularly good rapper, and secondly, the myriad of skits on this album are so annoying, stupid and boring (or any other negative adjective you can think of) that it nearly drives the listener to breaking the cd in half.
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