Anybody else think Wyclef's "The Carnival" was a great album?

[infinite59]

Artists don't make great records like this anymore.......

Today, there is the same played out formula being used on every record.  I think B.I.G. kind of started the trend and now every rapper is doing it these days. (with nowhere near the style and success that B.I.G. had)  You make a couple tracks for the club, a couple for the honey's, a couple about money, and then a couple of cuts about how hard and gangsta you are, and then that's a wrap!

Well back in 1998 when "The Carnival" was out times were different.  Artists put together ALBUMS not SINGLES!  The albums had themes and concepts, that were complex and thought-provoking.  Wyclef's "The Carnival" is everything an album should be.  He had songs that touched you emotionally, made you want to laugh, cry, and shout. 

You can tell a great deal of thought went into the making of this album.  It seems like Wyclef was trying to create a masterpiece.  The album was widely creative and diverse, from hip hop, Latin American, reggae, haitian, calypso, rock, and everything in between. I can't say if there is any large Hip Hop star that has the cultural insightfulness and diversity that Wyclef has, partly because Wyclef had a unique upbringing, being from Haiti and experiencing the poverty and turmoil that country is still suffering from today.  As displayed on the track "Gunpowder"[/i] a gripping tale of war story expressing how Haitian's cope with war.  He offers a unique perspective in the world of hip-hop. 

The guest artists added their own perspectives to the collection, and he primarily worked with artists on the album that he was close with, so the chemistry was there.  The lyrics were fresh and though-provoking.  He also experimented a little on the album though, like with the old school R&B group (Aaron Neville) on the track "Mona Lisa" and the results were magnificent.

Wyclef hasn't done much since, after completing the classic Fugee's record and then breaking out with this solo LP, he may have exhausted most of his creative energy's.  Still this album, is a great record, and it's something you can put in a time capsule and listen to ten years from now and it will still be dope.

Anyone agree? 

[DAYUM]

its good

[Trauma-san]

It's a good album.  I particularly like Guantanamera. 

[Tical]

It's a good album.  I particuarly like Guantanamera. 

[Trauma-san]

Upon reading your response, I noticed I misspelled "Particularly".  You might want to fix that, sorry for leading you so far astray!

[Don Jacob]

it's aright, it's not amazing or great

wyclef's problem is that he tries to emulate instead of create, and mixed with that he is very unfocused with what he's trying to emulate....you can tell he's trying to emulate bob dylan on some songs but for some reason he tries to bust out with some dane hall shit .....kinda like mixing tomatoe juice and ice cream

[Tical]

.....kinda like mixing tomatoe juice and ice cream

u mexicans mix tomato juice with almost everything. also, salt + lime

[.:Hercy Buggz:.]

That album is a fucking classic  :::::::::HAITIAN PRIDE:::::::::::

[Throwback]

its pretty dope

[KURUPTION-81]

one of my favourite albums as it was one of the first hip hop albums i bought. it basically got me hooked on hip hop.

[On The Edge of Insanity]

Yeah, extremely dope album, I did a review of it a while back:

http://www.dubcnn.com/connect/index.php?topic=35314.0

[Smooth]

Yeah that was a tight album... one of the first hip hop albums I was into back in the day... there's so many dope songs on there...

[Sikotic™]

I always wanted to check this recor dout but never got to it.

[DAYUM]

I always wanted to check this recor dout but never got to it.

get at me on AIM and i can send it to u

[Trauma-san]

Oh, and just thought I'd mention incase people didn't know... Guantanamera is a cover of an ancient song.  Of course the rap is new, but the hook is ollllld, we're talking 50's, maybe earlier as a folk song.