Wyclef Jean takes on hip-hop scene with new mixtape

Wyclef Jean is taking on some of this year’s biggest hip-hop hits on his upcoming new mixtape.

The former Fugees star is set to rework the likes of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘DNA’, and Young Thug and Future’s collaboration ‘Killed Before’, by adding his own beats and rhymes to the original tracks.

Speaking to the BBC, he explained: “It’s going to be insane. Because, at the end of the day, can I go bar-for-bar with Kendrick?

You know I can – but to a kid, it’s going to sound pretty amazing.”

The ‘Killing Me Softly’ hitmaker has produced tunes for some of the world’s biggest acts, including ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ by Shakira and Santana’s ‘Maria Maria’.

The latter was sampled in DJ Khaled and Rihanna’s hit single ‘Wild Thoughts’, and Wyclef has promised the mixtape ‘Inspired’ will “mess with the kids the same way they mess with my material”.

He added: “They already called me a genius – but the true genius is what? When you’re able to reinvent genius over and over again.”

The 48-year-old rapper is planning to unveil the record “in a couple days”, following his eight studio album ‘Carnival III’ which was released in September.

It’s a quick turnaround, but Wyclef is keen to release a lot of music by 2019, as he explained as a youngster he always wondered why he should have to wait to put out his tunes.

He said: “As a kid I was always like, ‘What the hell? Why do I have to wait to put out music?’ So every couple of months for the next two years, we’re going to put out new music, feeding the fans, all over the world.”

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