Eclectic to say the least

Wyclef and the Refugee Camp hold a cross-genre fan base, being one of the influences of the hip hop world that can truly be said to have very high level of acceptance and support from non-hip-hop heads. Eleftic demonstraits why this is so beautifully. Wyclef comes with a strong album sporting an array of music that is as diverse as it is well crafted. Inspirations from classic rock, regae, soul, R&B, Dance and many other sources are noticable all over the album while successfully maintaing a very hip hop feel throughout the entire thing. This genre balancing act can be tricky but Wyclef does this wonderfully, and possibly even better than on his last solo album. The lyrics and rhymes range from not bad, to pretty good, and the singing is good as well. But the real star here is the music. The beats are diverse and enjoyable and will satisfy almost anyone. Songs like "wish you were here", "Run away", "911", "Doesnt matter", and "pulling me in" all sport styles that are different and have unique flavors to them and "Diallo Diallo" showcases wyclef's social conscious edge to his work.

All things considered some hip hop heads will argue that there isn't enough rap, or that it doesn't suit thier tastes. But Ecleftic can hold a rare title of being "hip hop for people who dont really like hip hop". And for me, and many other hip hop fans, elecftic will represent something different and a little innovative with great production work. Beats catchy enough to make you bob your head and enough soul to make you want to sing along, and plenty of culture - Wyclef proves once again on Ecleftic that hip hop is an artform that can be effectively used as glue to hold together many elements of several different musical genres at the same time, and bring it all together in a melody that's different pieces oddly compliment one another beautifully.

It's Aight

I like The Carnival and Preacher's Son better, but this is listenable. As far as musically, Wyclef's improved, but he is kinda immature on this album. "Where Fugees At?" is a good beat, but why's he askin? Supposedly it's his fault that they split up, according to Pras(though he's not a very reliable source). Clef also makes the mistake of trying to take on Canibus, his former protege(Canibus blamed Wyclef for the failure of his debut, and dissed him on "2000 B.C."). Clef is obviously no match for Canibus and if 'Bis retaliated on him, Clef would be finished. Besides those mistakes, and the horrible "Dirty South", Clef seems to have grown a little. On "Perfect Gentlemen", Clef defends strippers and tells the story of a romance between him and a stripper(likely false). The album misses that Fugees vibe that was still there on The Carnival. The less know guest appearences are boring, but the big names are funny and acceptable. Kenny Rogers, of all people, sings on "Kenny Rogers Dub Plate", where Wyclef and other rappers rhyme over a beat as Kenny sings the hook. This song is surprisingly likeable as is "It Doesn't Matter" which has another surprising guest, wrestler The Rock. On "911", Clef teams up with Mary J. Blige to showcase his actually not bad singing voice. Besides the awful Whitney Houston team up on her dub plate, Clef seems to have it down. Songs like "Hollyhood to Hollywood" and "Diallo" showcase his amazing creativity once again, the latter which is based on the case of the police shooting a man named Diallo 41 times for nothing. One of my favorite songs is "Wish You Were Here", which sounds alot like "Gone Til November", because of Clef's flow from singing to rapping. Basically, get Clef's other albums first(The Carnival, Preacher's Son, the fugees Score, and Pras' Ghetto Supastar).

This man take risks , make mistakes and is original

I think this a very creative record . Wyclef jean take risks , so all the songs are not the at the same level . But a record that have Diallo among the tracks deserves serious listening and deep attention. Period.

I give to it 5 stars for its artistic achievements ( and because Earth , Wind and Fire appear !!)