Wyclef Just Won’t Face The Music

Now he's made a protest song to appeal to the masses.

By Naima Ramos-Chapman Aug 26, 2010

It ain’t over ’till the former-Fugee sings. Wyclef Jean has been told, now for a second time, that he’s ineligible to run for president of Haiti, but he’s not backing down.

Jean recorded and released a new protest song he posted on Twitter called "Prizon Pou KEPA." The song rails against the Haiti’s electoral council’s refusal to allow the presidential bid. On the track, ‘Clef sings in Creole, a move that’s probably directly linked to claims that the singer wasn’t fluent in the country’s most prominent language. 

Haiti’s electoral committee rejected Jean’s bid based on a requirement that all candidates must establish that they’ve lived in the country continuously for five years. Jean left Haiti as a small child and was raised in Brooklyn, but insists that he’s lived in Haiti for six years.

As Jamilah King reported, the question of residency set aside, Jean’s poor money management and political inexperience guaranteed his road to candidacy was going to get a little bumpy. But despite poor reviews the artist seem unwilling to bow out gracefully.

According to The Guardian, Jean plans to file a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, since the country’s electoral council has already rejected his appeal.

Besides releasing protest songs, Jean may also band with other rejected candidates, including his uncle, Raymond Joseph, Haiti’s former ambassador to the US.