This year, Wyclef Jean's explosive debut solo album, Carnival , turns 20 years old. The record was released just a year after The Fugees's revolutionary, massively influential, and still tragically relevant opus The Score , which blended diegetic street sounds with warped, gritty samples. It flexed all three members' poetic lyrical prowess, and cemented the trio as verifiable hip-hop legends. Carnival was Wyclef's first release under his own name, but he wasn't standing alone: both former Fugees Lauryn Hill and Pras contributed features, as did The Neville Brothers and Bob Marley's backing vocalists, the I-Threes.
Wyclef is celebrating Carnival 's anniversary by looking forward; he's prepping the release of its third iteration Carnival III: Road To Clefication . But before Carnival rolls back into town, Wyclef is releasing a new EP, J'ouvert , to break off a preview of the reggae rap sounds he's been cooking up for Carnival III . Ahead of J'ouvert 's release tomorrow, he's shared a new track from the project, "Holding on the Edge," with i-D.
Read more: i-d.vice.com