Wyclef Jean and Pantonic Steel Orchestra make music
Wyclef Jean with Pantonic Steel Orchestra
Hip-hop recording
superstar
Wyclef Jean
recently joined New York's
Pantonic Steel Orchestra in
their Brooklyn practice facility known as the "pan yard."
The two musical giants came together as part of Wyclef's
preparation for his upcoming release entitled The Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant.
Pantonic, renowned throughout the steelband music
community, is currently in the midst of preparing for the
upcoming annual steelband music competition. Known as
'Panorama', the competition is the most prestigious and largest
of its kind in North America. Pantonic is looking forward
to capturing what would be their sixth title in eight years.
The orchestra provided an authentic musical
and visual component for the videographers and photographers
present, and was a backdrop for Wyclef.
Wyclef
Jean is one of the most important personalities in the world in hip-hop
music. The Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant has a
Fall 2007 release timeframe and will be on the Sony label.
This will be Wyclef's sixth
solo CD
release. Guest artists on this project include T.I.,
Chamillionaire, Paul Simon, Akon and Mary J. Blige.
The coming together
of Wyclef and Pantonic showcases the growing acceptance,
awareness, popularity and the role of steelbands with the youth,
and within the global
urban music culture. The rising popularity of the
steelpan music phenomenon is a direct result of the youth movement in pan
music, which continues to birth generations of players who are
equally comfortable listening to hip-hop, as they are to the
native
music of their immigrant parents.
The Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant
is considered a sequel to Wyclef's 1997 solo debut "The
Carnival".