{"id":1137,"date":"2019-07-17T18:19:16","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wcsu.wpengine.com\/news-archives\/wyclefjean\/"},"modified":"2019-07-17T18:19:16","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:19:16","slug":"wyclefjean","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/wyclefjean\/","title":{"rendered":"Wyclef Jean to speak at WCSU commencement"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DANBURY, CONN. <\/strong>\u2014 As the world\u2019s attention has turned recently to Haiti in the wake of the devastating earthquake there in January, one of the country\u2019s native sons has become a vocal advocate in support of rebuilding his homeland. Wyclef Jean, multi-platinum recording artist and founder of the charity Yel\u00e9 Haiti, will be the keynote speaker at Western Connecticut State University\u2019s undergraduate commencement on Sunday, May 23.<\/p>\n

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WestConn President James W. Schmotter said Jean\u2019s talk should prove to be inspirational.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re excited that Wyclef Jean has agreed to speak at our undergraduate commencement ceremonies in May,\u201d Schmotter said. \u201cHis artistic achievements and his long and impressive record of humanitarian work have recently been underscored by his role in galvanizing the international response to the terrible tragedy in his homeland. I know that he will bring a message that will engage and inspire our graduates and all in attendance.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Born in Croix-des-Bouquets, Jean lived on the island of Haiti until the age of 13 when his family moved to Brooklyn, N.Y. He later lived in northern New Jersey. A singer-songwriter who also plays guitar, piano and drums, Jean began his music career as a member of The Refugee Camp (The Fugees) with Lauryn Hill and fellow Haitian immigrant Prakazrel \u201cPras\u201d Michel, his cousin. The Fugees released \u201cBlunted on Reality,\u201d which peaked at No. 62 on the Billboard Top R&B\/Hip Hop Albums chart in 1994, and \u201cThe Score,\u201d which became a multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning album in 1996. A Greatest Hits album was released in 2003.<\/p>\n

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Jean launched his solo career in 1997 with the release of \u201cWyclef Jean Presents the Carnival Featuring the Refugee All-Stars.\u201d His albums that followed included \u201cThe Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book\u201d in 2000, \u201cMasquerade\u201d in 2002, \u201cThe Preacher\u2019s Son\u201d in 2003 and \u201cSak Pas\u00e9 Presents: Welcome to Haiti\u201d in 2004, which features many songs in his native language of Haitian Creole.<\/p>\n

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\n During the past decade, Jean has produced and written songs for several documentaries and major motion pictures, including \u201cThe Manchurian Candidate,\u201d \u201cHotel Rwanda,\u201d \u201cThe Agronomist\u201d and \u201cGhosts of Cite Soleil,\u201d as well as collaborative songwriting and recording efforts with rap and R&B artists including T.I., Lil\u2019 Wayne, Niia, Akon, will.i.am and Ludacris. In 2007, he released \u201cCarnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant.\u201d The EP \u201cFrom the Hut, to the Projects, to the Mansion\u201d was released in 2009 with Jean using the alias Toussaint St. Jean, his rap moniker. An eponymous studio album is expected to be released this year.<\/p>\n

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Jean established the Yel\u00e9 Haiti Foundation in 2005 after the devastation caused by Hurricane Jeanne. The organization has continued to provide assistance to Haitians in the aftermath of the recent earthquake.<\/p>\n

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For more information, call (203) 837-8486.<\/p>\n

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Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England\u2019s best small private universities.<\/em><\/p>\n

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DANBURY, CONN. \u2014 As the world\u2019s attention has turned recently to Haiti in the wake of the devastating earthquake there in January, one of the country\u2019s native sons has become a vocal advocate in support of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1137","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1137\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}