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In a bid to democratise the global music marketplace, international music star Wyclef Jean is putting his money where his mouth is. With US$25 million to start, Jean’s new music publishing company, Carnival World Music Group, is currently seeking submissions from the best new songwriters and producers in the Caribbean and Africa. That means Jamaica, too. Following the example of major label founders and executives like Clive Davis, L.A. Reid and Russell Simmonds, Jean is taking his seat at the controls as a music executive. His focus will be to excavate regional talent for the originators’ benefit. Read more: Jamaica-gleaner.com

Wyclef Jean is the personification of the American dream. The artist-producer, joining the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra for a Rockin’ Orchestra Series concert at the Schuster Center in Dayton on Saturday, Feb. 8, was 9 when he moved to the United States from Haiti. The talented and tenacious youngster took full advantage of the opportunities in his new land. He was still a teenager when he got to work with big-name rap artists Kurtis Blow and Erik B. and Rakim. Read more: daytondailynews.com

Wyclef Jean  is giving back and his latest charitable donation arrives, courtesy of his efforts to raise $25 million dollars in funding to Carnival World Music Group, which aims to support artists in developing countries seeking publishing and distribution support.Carnival World Music Group, which aims to ensure artists in developing countrys have publishing and dustribution In his new interview with  Forbes , the industry titan, 50, detailed his cultural ties with his native Haiti and his belief that the Afrobeats genre will continue to be a steady influence for western culture. Read more: iheart.com

The generous charitable initiatives established by three-time Grammy Award winner Wyclef Jean, in his native Haiti and other developing countries in Africa, are a significant part of his legacy. Jean hopes to see these regions continue to thrive and, more recently, has turned his attention to the fast-growing music genre of Afrobeats, which has had a burst of commercial success globally, in 2018 and 2019. I spoke with Wyclef Jean about his newest venture Carnival World Music Group, which has just raised an impressive $25 million in capital funding. The group seeks to democratize the global music marketplace for songwriters and producers in developing regions, whilst contributing to further empower dynamic women-owned businesses in the music industry.  Read more: Forbes.com

In late October, Wyclef Jean performed at Chelsea Music Hall, an intimate venue in New York City. The small setting might seem odd for a music icon; a prolific singer, writer and producer who’s won three Grammy Awards, has collaborated with everyone from Carlos Santana to Michael Jackson to Shakira, and whose nine solo albums have sold nearly nine million copies. But there was no place he would have rather been.  The event, entitled Wyclef Goes Back to School, was a showcase for Jeremy Torres, Riley and Jazzy Amra, three up-and-coming artists with Heads Music, an independent label to which Wyclef recently signed. “My passion has always been artist development,” he tells us. “I was excited because Heads was an all-female company and the passion they had for upcoming artists was a different emotion than at a major label that just looks at the data and says, ‘Let’s sign this.’”  Read more: maxim.com