Wyclef Says Young Thug Reminds Him of Tupac
Wyclef Jean recently collaborated with Young Thug for the song "Kanye West." Now, in a new interview with Pigeons & Planes, Wyclef says Young Thug reminds him of a "modern Tupac."
Initially, one might find the comparison to be a bit of a stretch. However, Wyclef backs up his bold claim by describing his relationship with the 25-year-old Jeffrey artist. The 46-year-old singer told the publication, "He’s from a project, I’m from a similar background. And he has a natural love for Haiti, understanding the history of Haiti. Haiti is the first black republic. He reminded me of a modern Tupac, in a sense—in a revolutionary sense."
He continues, "I mean that by, alright, you might see a thug, but his connection to history seemed similar to what Pac understood, of like, 'This is who the Black Panthers are. Read this book, read that book.' This kid understands. I sent him the Ghosts of Cité Soleil documentary. He must have seen it like 10, 15 times. He is like a sponge when it comes to history. He likes to absorb a lot of information, and actually wants to learn."
Wyclef also explained how he linked up with Young Thug for the "Kanye West" collab. He tells Pigeons & Planes, "My management gets the call and they’re like, 'Yo, Jeffery’s trying to track you down, because there’s a track that he needs you on.' And he’s got everybody like, 'Find Wyclef, find Wyclef.' So I go down to Atlanta, and the first thing he’s playing me is his mixtape." Apparently, Thugger told Wyclef that he's one of his greatest inspirations. Thug's projects are called Haiti, he named his daughter Haiti, and he even has a 'Haiti' tattoo.
In other Wyclef-related news, the Haitian artist has new music on the way. His new EP J'ouvert (which means "I open" in French) is slated to drop in November. According to Wyclef, J'ouvert is just the beginning of even more tunes to come: he has a full length Carnival album dropping in June. He says, "But now, my brain has been concocting what is starting to sound like Carnival III. And it starts off with the new EP called J’ouvert, to celebrate the culture ... The start of the carnival is called J’ouvert."
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