Wyclef Jean will release Preacher's Son, his fourth solo album, on J Records, in October. For the album, Clef's first since last year's Masquerade, the former Fugee enlisted U2 guitarist the Edge and an all-star hip-hop roster including Redman, Scarface, Mobb Deep's Prodigy, Trick Daddy and producer Timbaland.

The title carries a personal resonance for Jean. The singer/producer/rapper is the son of a Haitian minister, who relocated his family to Brooklyn, New York, when Wyclef was a child. Jean's father, Rev. Gesner Jean, who continued to preach after relocating to Newark, New Jersey, was killed in September 1991, when he was pinned between a garage door and his car at home. Though Masquerade was dedicated to Jean's father, Preacher's Son is his first full album recorded following the tragedy.

Wyclef's jump to J Records follows three solo albums (and one with the Fugees) for Columbia over six years. After his solo debut, 1997's Presents the Carnival was registered as double platinum, Jean's sales moved south. The follow-up, The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book registered platinum sales in 2000, but Masquerade failed to reach platinum or gold certification.

ANDREW DANSBY
(July 8, 2003)