Wyclef Jean performed at Brooklyn Bowl this week, and another show was added for Tuesday night. Jean spoke with NY1's Stephanie Simon about the live show and the new record label he is working with.

Wyclef Jean has reason to be excited. The rapper, producer and founding member of 90s hip-hop group Fugees is performing in Brooklyn for the first time in 10 years.

"After Haiti, my first stop was Brooklyn,” Jean said. “That’s where the whole thing comes from, and then, I moved to New Jersey, got with The Fugees, and it’s like going back home too.”

“It’s like Little Haiti basically being in Brooklyn and the whole Caribbean community," Jean added.

Another reason for Wyclef's excitement is he is working with Heads Music, run out of this space on the Upper East Side.

"It’s like the biggest secret in New York, like an entire music label bringing Wyclef back, being ran by women,” Jean said.

The vision is a modern version of the Motown label in its heyday.

"It has to be like iconic artists working with young artists that could be iconic. So because of my history with Destiny’s Child, Lauren Hill, Shakira, Mary J, Whitney Huston, they brought me into the label. I would say my position is like Smokey Robinson, so I get to just sit and write a lot of good music,” Jean said.

Good music – often with a political overtone. Fugees comes from the word "refugees," a topic as relevant today as when he sang about refugees with Shakira.

"I think that we have to find a way to help these people," Jean said.

And when Wyclef preforms, you can expect a party atmosphere. He said that is just a part of his musical vibe.

"It's gonna be like Bob Dylan meets Bob Marley, and we’re all gonna have a love fest that night,” Jean said.

So how does he address the political and still keep it fun? Well, ‘refugee’ is also a reference to his belief that music offers a sense of refuge to all of us.

The concert is Tuesday night at Brooklyn Bowl.

Read the full article at ny1.com