Photo credit: Cyrille Margarit
(AllHipHop News) Singer/rapper Wyclef Jean has recently released a new memoir, and in the midst of the book’s promotional tour, he has found himself embroiled in controversy over recent Lauryn Hill allegations.
AllHipHop.com spoke with Jean during an exclusive interview at a signing for his book, Purpose: An Immigrant’s Story, yesterday (September 18) at the 5th Avenue Barnes & Noble bookstore in New York City.
Before the signing event, Jean was eager to address detractors who have questioned the timing of his book’s release, at a time when former Fugees group member, Lauryn Hill, is dealing with significant tax evasion charges from the IRS.
In Purpose, Jean details how, during their meteoric rise as a rapping/singing trio (with group member, Pras), Hill disclosed to him that he was the father of her soon-to-be-born baby. In time, Jean says he found out that her son Zion’s father was actually Rohan Marley, the son of legendary reggae artist, Bob Marley.
“Keep in mind right, everything I told you in the book, someone already knows. So I can’t lie to AllHipHop.com…y’all have pieces of all this information,” said Jean. “[People knew] that, that the first baby, ‘Clef thought that was his baby.’ Remember the cover of The Source, Wyclef’s in the middle and what does it say? – ‘Baby Daddy’ on it.
“When it comes to Lauryn Hill, it’s nothing but love in the context of if she needs something, I’m always a phone call away.”
Jean noted that fans are still relentless when it comes to asking about a possible Fugees reunion. When asked if his recent announcement about the long ago baby incident had all but assured that the group from North Jersey would never perform again, he was willing to offer his thoughts:
“For a Fugees fan that’s asking, ‘Yo when y’all did The Score, man, there were undertones going on’, and we have the puzzle pieces for those fans. I still owe them an explanation. And I feel closure now in a sense of, you know, they can’t be like, ‘Yo, is there going to be another Fugee album.'”
“I don’t want the base of my book to be based on my triangle affair of passion with Lauryn, but it’s cool. If we got to get past that to get to that you read the story of an immigrant, of a kid coming from a hut, and how I made it to America, it’s all part of the book.”
Watch the exclusive video below of Wyclef Jean, as he talks about the book’s timing, what he thinks of Lauryn Hill now, and how The Fugees will fare after his recent revelation:
Check back for more of AllHipHop.com’s interview with Wyclef Jean in the days to come.
