Fugee No Longer: Wyclef Jean’s Presidential Bid

Hip hop legend and Big Think expert, Wyclef Jean may soon add the title of president to his list of accomplishments. The former Fugee is expected to announce his bid for presidency of his birthplace Haiti on Thursday. The small Caribbean nation is still recovering from a massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake, which struck the capital Port-au-Prince on January 12, killing an estimated 300,000. 

Jean created the Yele Haiti Foundation in 2005, as a means of bringing humanitarian aid to Haiti. But this would be his first foray into politics. He told Time Magazine today that “if not for the earthquake, I probably would have waited another 10 years before doing this.” But the earthquake has shown how desperately Haiti needs to join the 21st century, he said. The elections to replace current President Rene Preval will be held on November 28th.

Last year Jean sat down with Big Think to talk about the state of hip hop and politics in the Obama era. Little did we know that he would be a presidential candidate himself little more than a year later. During the interview Jean also talked about his vivid memories of growing up in Haiti. To this day, whenever he feels down, he thinks about the tribal rhythms of his home country and feels better, he told us.