The Carnival is the debut album released by American hip hop musician Wyclef Jean. Released on June 24, 1997, Jean also served as the album's executive producer. The album was a critical and commercial success, reaching at number sixteen on the US Billboard 200 chart, and reaching the top five on the Top R&B Albums chart, peaking at number four and garnered Jean two Grammy Award nominations for the 40th Grammy Awards, including one for Best Rap Album. The US top ten hit, "Gone till November" earned Jean a nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 41st Grammy Awards in 1999.
Music and lyrics
The album encompasses many musical genres, including hip hop, reggae, folk, disco, soul, Son Cubano and Haitian music. The album features guest appearances from Celia Cruz, The Neville Brothers and Jean's bandmates from The Fugees, Lauryn Hill and Pras. It also features skits between many of its songs, most of them set in a fictional trial for Wyclef Jean, in which he is accused of being "a player" and a "bad influence". The final three songs on the album are sung in Haitian Creole.
Commercial performance
The Carnival spawned the singles "Gone Till November", "We Trying to Stay Alive", "Guantanamera" and "To All the Girls". The album sold over 5 million copies worldwide, and was RIAA certified 2x Platinum.
Critical reception
In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, music critic Robert Christgau found the album more R&B than the "diasporan flavors" it uses as "half decoration, half concept", and remarked that Jean uses the sampler for "one-dimensional tunes" that showcase his "well-articulated morality tales and popwise carnivalesque."[3] In his review for Playboy, Christgau asserted that the album is more likely than any other well-meaning hip hop to impact the demographic it aims at and also works as an attempt to prove Jean is equally worthy of the attention given to Lauryn Hill.[7]
The Carnival was voted the sixteenth best album of the year in The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll for 1997.[8] Christgau, the poll's creator, ranked it twentieth on his own list.[9]
Track listing
| 1. |
"Intro" |
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| 2. |
"Apocalypse" |
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| 3. |
"Guantanamera" (Featuring Celia Cruz, Jeni Fujita & Lauryn Hill) |
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| 4. |
"Pablo Diablo (Interlude)" (Featuring Crazy Sam & Da Verbal Assassin) |
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| 5. |
"Bubblegoose" |
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| 6. |
"Prelude to "To All the Girls"" |
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| 7. |
"To All the Girls" |
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| 8. |
"Down Lo Ho (Interlude)" |
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| 9. |
"Anything Can Happen" |
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| 10. |
"Gone till November" |
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| 11. |
"Words of Wisdom (Interlude)" |
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| 12. |
"Year of the Dragon" (Featuring Lauryn Hill) |
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| 13. |
"Sang Fézi" (Featuring Lauryn Hill) |
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| 14. |
"Fresh Interlude" |
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| 15. |
"Mona Lisa" (Featuring The Neville Brothers) |
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| 16. |
"Street Jeopardy" (Featuring John Forté & R.O.C.) |
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| 17. |
"Killer M.C. (Interlude)" |
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| 18. |
"We Trying to Stay Alive" (Featuring John Forté & Pras) |
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| 19. |
"Gunpowder" (Featuring the I-Threes) |
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| 20. |
"Closing Arguments (Interlude)" |
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| 21. |
"Enter the Carnival (Interlude)" |
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| 22. |
"Jaspora" |
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| 23. |
"Yele" |
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| 24. |
"Carnival" (Featuring Jacob Desvarieux, Jocelyne Béroard & Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly) |
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Chart performance
Album
Singles
| Year |
Single |
Chart |
Peak
position |
| 1997 | "We Trying to Stay Alive" | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 14 |
| Hot Rap Singles | 3 |
| Billboard Hot 100 | 45 |
| "Guantanamera" | Latin Pop Airplay | 16 |
| Latin Tropical/Salsa Airplay | 12 |
| 1998 | "Cheated (To All the Girls)" | Hot Rap Singles | 6 |
| "Gone till November" | Canadian Singles Chart | 4 |
| Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 1 |
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 9 |
| Hot Rap Singles | 2 |
| Rhythmic Top 40 | 19 |
| Billboard Hot 100 | 7 |
| UK Singles Chart | 3 |
| "To All the Girls" | Canadian Singles Chart | 19 |
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 48 |
| Billboard Hot 100 | 61 |
Personnel
- Wyclef Jean – guitar, keyboards
- Rita Marley – background vocals
- Judy Mowatt – background vocals
- Marcia Griffiths – background vocals
- Sonny Kompanek – arranger
- Salaam Remi – producer, engineer, mixing
- Warren Riker – mastering, mixing
- Rudy – assistant engineer
- DJ Skribble – scratching
- Funkmaster Flex – scratching
- Crazy Sam & Da Verbal Assassins – performer
- Manuel Lecuona – mastering
- Rawle Gittens – mixing assistant
- Tony Gonzales – assistant engineer
- Lauryn Hill – arranger, performer, executive producer
- Jerry Duplessis – guitar, bass, producer
- Alex Olsson – mixing assistant
- John Forté – performer
- Jay Nicholas – mixing assistant
- Pras – performer, executive producer
- Melky Sedeck – performer
- New York Philharmonic Orchestra – performer
- Tomas Muscionico – photography
- Mike Roach – mixing assistant
- Storm Jefferson – mixing assistant
- Paul Epworth – assistant engineer
- Brian Dozoretz – engineer, mixing assistant
- Jocelyne Béroard – performer
- Sweet Micky – performer
- The Neville Brothers – performer
- Celia Cruz – performer
References
- ↑ Nelson, Havelock (December 27, 1997 – January 3, 1998). "The Rap Column". Billboard: 85. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
- ↑ link
- 1 2 Christgaua, Robert (September 23, 1997). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice (New York). Retrieved July 22, 2013.
- ↑ link
- ↑ RS 764/765
- ↑ Brackett, N.; Hoard, C.D. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. p. 425. ISBN 9780743201698. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert (July 1997). "Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton, Wyclef Jean, Strip Jointz". Playboy. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
- ↑ "The 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice (New York). February 28, 1998. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
- ↑ "Pazz & Jop 1997: Dean's List". The Village Voice (New York). February 28, 1998. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
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