Wyclef Jean
Carnival

"Taste the culture, know who you are," exhorts a voice in the opening seconds of The Carnival . While Fugees mastermind Wyclef sets a high goal for his first solo album, essentially a follow-up to the Brooklyn hip-hoppers' multiplatinum The Score , he never succumbs to feel-goodism or preachiness while traveling the songlines. Including everything from over-the-top operatic scatting to Bee Gees samples and Celia Cruz as part of its rhythm nation, The Carnival proves that, "Killing Me Softly" or no, the rapper/producer is far from losing his knack for mad fun and games. And, indeed, if you're not careful, you may end up learning something: witness the ballad "Gone Till November," a drug runner's unflinching lament.

1. Intro/Court/Clef/Intro (Skit/Interlude)
2. Apocalypse
3. Guantanamera
4. Pablo Diablo (Interlude)
5. Bubblegoose
6. Prelude To 'All The Girls' (Interlude)
7. To All The Girls
8. Down Lo Ho (Interlude)
9. Anything Can Happen
10. Gone Till November
11. Words Of Wisdom (Interlude)
12. Year Of The Dragon
13. Sang Fezi
14. Fresh Interlude
15. Mona Lisa
16. Street Jeopardy
17. Killer M.C. (Interlude)
18. We Trying To Stay Alive
19. Gunpowder
20. Closing Arguments (Interlude/Skit)