Wyclef Jean interview

Hip-hop don, Wyclef Jean, talks Fugees reunions and Tom Jones juice

Hip-hop musician Wyclef Jean talks about Fugees reunion rumours, flying bullets and hanging out with Tom Jones

First things first, will there be a Fugees reunion?

There’s always a possibility. Lauryn [Hill] is the most talented female I’ve worked with, but she can’t see past her own image right now.

What was it like growing up in Haiti?

I lived in a hut with no roof and I rode to school on a donkey. I used to shoot birds with a slingshot to cook for dinner. Now I prefer to get my food from KFC.

When you moved to Brooklyn as a teenager, you were mugged and shot in the leg (on separate occasions). Is that the most terrified you’ve been?

I wasn’t terrified. I was shot, but I carried on.

Do you own a gun?

Put it like this, you don’t want to come to my house and get me.

You teamed up with knicker-magnet Tom Jones in 2002 – what did you learn from him?

The chat was non-stop. Every time I was around him I’d scrub up against him to try and get some of that Tom Jones juice.

Hip-hop is known for its excesses. What are yours?

I love trainers. I’ve got new Pumas on today and I won’t wear them again. I send them to Haiti when I’ve finished with them.

Wyclef’s album Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant is out now on Sony BMG.