WIT | West Indies Tempo

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Anyone who thought that {|Lauryn Hill|} was the most talented member of the {|Fugees|} will reconsider upon listening to Wyclef Jean's lyrically ingenious and musically boundless sophomore disc, The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book. Picking up where his dazzling, world music-splashed solo debut, {|The Carnival|}, left off, The Ecleftic is a testimony to Jean's beat-savvy production and vast musical knowledge -- from the Dirty South sensibility of the pulsating "Thug Angels" to the hip-hop-meets-acoustic rock cover of Pink Floyd's "{|Wish You Were Here|}." Throughout the disc, Jean conveys his eclectic musical vision with tremendous charm and a biting sense of humor, and he's joined by an unlikely host of collaborators, including {|Kenny Rogers|}, {|Whitney Houston|}, {|Earth, Wind, & Fire|}, and World Wresting Federation superstar The Rock. But it appears that Jean wasn't charismatic enough to coax his former bandmantes back into the Fugees fold. "Lauryn if you listening/Pras if you listening/Give me a call in the lab in the Booga basement," he wryly pleads on the anthemic "Where Fugees At?" But on the same track, he scorns his fellow Fugees with lyrical lashes such as: "We used to rap/Now you want to come at me with a bat/Y'all must be smokin' crack/Like Pookie from New Jack." Meanwhile, the reggae- and African rhythm-infused protest "Diallo," describes the New York City police officers who shot West African immigrant Amadou Diallo 41 times as "vampires in the middle of the night/suckin' on human blood." Whether he's providing pure entertainment or political food for thought, The Elcleftic proves that Wyclef Jean is no ordinary MC. On the contrary -- he's an extraordinary talent.