Wyclef Jean The Ecleftic * 2 Sides II A Book Lyrics

Welcome to hip-hop originality. On Wyclef Jean's The Ecleftic, his beats-beyond-borders ideology, seen on the Fugees' The Score and his own Carnival, shines bright. Rap's Renaissance man, he's pushing hip-hop forward with his musical vision. Firmly rooted in an inclusive old-school aesthetic (recalling Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa) he's got Kenny Rogers and Pharoahe Monch sharing space on a dub plate. Youssou N'Dour guests on the indignant, powerful "Diallo." And Mary J. Blige joins Wyclef for the mournfully beautiful duet "911." Though there are many musical flavors on The Ecleftic, Jean's deft musical arrangements prevent them from descending into tokenism. But at the end of the day, there's no doubt that this is hip-hop, with taut tracks like "Thug Angels," "However You Want It," and "Pulling Me In" showing that Wyclef's holding it down for the heads, some of whom felt that his Carnival was a little too poppy. The Ecleftic contains enough anger and righteous indignation to be real hip-hop, and enough humor and musical magic to be fun. --Lizz Mendez Berry