Wyclef Jean Bringing “Travis Scott Reggae” To Upcoming Reggae Album
Wyclef Jean’s upcoming Reggae album, titled One Night In Kingston, promises a unique fusion of traditional roots Reggae and modern elements, which the Haitian rapper calls “Travis Scott Reggae.”
This is according to the album’s executive producer, Tom Jones, better known as Reggae/Dancehall singjay Panic, who explained that a contemporary approach — like YG Marley’s reinvention of Bob Marley‘s Crisis into the hit Praise Jah in the Moonlight — was essential for Reggae.
“The album is reggae with elements of [what] Clef calls that ‘Travis Scott reggae.’ Kids are turned off by the same old reggae their grandparents listened to. YG Marley took his grandfather’s song and made it new. Even before YG broke, we knew it’s that ‘now’ element that has been missing from Reggae,” Panic told Billboard.
The Jamaican-born producer has been masterminding the project in Kingston alongside The Compound Band. “The musicians play the music, I send it to Wyclef, and we talk about the direction. Our mindsets and writing styles are similar, that’s why making this album was effortless,” he said.
With no set release date, Wyclef emphasized the importance of letting the music speak for itself, akin to Lauryn Hill’s timeless classic, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which Apple Music named “The Best Album Of All Time” earlier this year.
“I’ve known Panic for over 20 years; he said, ‘yo, we need a Wyclef Jean reggae album,’ so he brought me into the studio,” Wyclef said. “I don’t know when it’s coming out. I never put a date on music because that means it isn’t good. Music has to be like a Lauryn Hill album, the best album of all time.”
John Shop Records, owned by ‘Sashi Experience’ co-founder Duwayne John, will release One Night in Kingston with a distribution label/partner to be announced.
The album is expected to feature a diverse lineup of vocal collaborators, including Panic, veteran reggae singer Luciano, Ghanaian dancehall/Afrobeats artist Stonebwoy, and Dancehall sensation Jada Kingdom.
“Panic is a genius, and the album’s combinations are insane,” Wyclef told Billboard.
“There’s a track with me, Luciano and Stonebwoy. That’s Haiti, Jamaica and Africa on one track, never been done before. I have a song with Jada Kingdom: we connected at the Caribbean Music Awards (hosted by Wyclef in August 2023.) As a sound (system) man, I wanted to feature young Jamaican artists. That’s my pulse, rocking with the youth, getting their energy out there.”
Wyclef Jean, who has collaborated with several Jamaican artists over the years, previously told DancehallMag that he finally decided to produce a full-length Reggae album because he felt compelled to.
He emphasized that the project is a labor of love, not a fleeting trend.
“A lot of people, they do these albums because of the opportunity. I love the music… I have to get inspired… I don’t do albums for the fashion or for the season; I do it for the feeling,” he explained. “When you hear it, you’re gonna feel a certain way and that’s ‘cause I’m putting my heart into it. I think I can do a nice Reggae and Dancehall album without it sounding like Snoop Lion.”
Wyclef’s most successful Reggae track thus far is No Woman, No Cry, a cover of the Bob Marley & The Wailers’ song of the same name, which has racked up over 75 million plays on Spotify. It appeared on The Fugees Grammy Award-winning album, The Score, released in 1996.
In 1999, he co-wrote and co-produced Whitney Houston’s reggae-tinged hit Your Love Is My Love, the title track of her fourth album.
He scored again in 2000 when he collaborated with Beenie Man on Love Me Now, a track on the Dancehall artist’s Grammy Award-winning Art and Life album.
For his 2003 album The Preacher’s Son, Wyclef tapped Buju Banton for the tracks Who Gave The Order and Party By The Sea, and Wayne Wonder and Elephant Man for the track I Am Your Doctor.
In 2007, for his CARNIVAL VOL. II…Memoirs of an Immigrant album, he recruited Sizzla for the tracks Riot and Welcome To The East, and Tony Matterhorn and Elephant Man for the track China Wine.
In 2010, he collaborated with Mavado on the single Hold On.
In 2020, he teamed up with Dre Island for Justice, which appeared on the Jamaican singer’s Now I Rise album.