Wyclef Jean

Wyclef Jean

Wyclef Jeanelle Jean (/ˈwaɪklɪf ˈʒɑːn/; ; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian American rapper, singer, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country. He first received fame as a member of the acclaimed New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees.

On August 5, 2010, Jean filed for candidacy in the 2010 Haitian presidential election, although the Electoral Commission subsequently ruled him ineligible to stand as he had not met the requirement to have been resident in Haiti for five years.

Jean's efforts at earthquake relief, highly publicized in 2010 throughout Haiti and the United States, were channeled through his charitable organization "Yele Haiti" and supported by donations from Jean's Twitter followers, views of the MTV telethon Hope for Haiti and audiences for numerous benefit concerts and other events. The charity, which is acknowledged to have performed a variety of charitable works in Haiti between 2005 and 2010, effectively closed in August of 2012 with the resignation of Derek Q. Johnson - the chief executive and, at that point, sole remaining employee. Allegations of mismanagement and improper use of funds were reported in the U.S. national press in 2010 and 2012. An investigation by the New York Attorney General's office resulted in allegations of gross mismanagement and improper expenditures, and further reporting by the New York Times revealed lawsuits pending in Haiti over unpaid debts and other accusations.