Grammy-winning producer Jerry “Wonda” Duplessis has worked with his cousin Wyclef Jean since the beginning of their careers, and their bond is still tighter than ever. After hearing news of ‘Clef getting shot in the hand while visiting Haiti last month, he was the first person to get the call that everything was fine.

“When something happens to ‘Clef, I’m the first one that gets the phone call,” Wonda told Rap-Up.com. “He was in the hospital right there, and when the whole situation happened, he was like, ‘Cousin, I’m OK. Don’t worry. I’m good, I’m good. Everything all right. I’ll call you tomorrow, everything is good.’ I had to hear his voice, because this guy, me and ‘Clef, we go a long way.”

Duplessis, native to Haiti, recalls moving to the United States as a kid where he stayed with Wyclef’s mother and little sister. With his cousin, he built the infamous Booga Basement studio where they worked on the seminal Fugees album The Score and made history.

“All I just know is that we worked in the house together. We all used to sleep there, I’m talking everyone,” recollected Wonda, who now has his own Platinum Sound Recording Studios in New York City. “What I could tell you is just that the old days were lovely, and if I could go back again, I definitely would go back. But it’s a whole new era for me right now.”

With production on upcoming albums by Mary J. Blige, Melanie Fiona, Musiq Soulchild, Alicia Keys, John Legend, and more, Duplessis is also focusing on his Yéle Haiti Foundation, established with ‘Clef in 2005. Since its creation, the two have put thousands of children in school and rallied local musicians to participate in bettering the community.

“We got a phone call from the kids down there that said, ‘Please, Wyclef, come down,’ and of course, Wyclef was like, ‘Jerry, we going,’” he continued. “We went straight from the studio to Haiti to a place called Cité Soleil and sat down with kids and gangs and mothers and uncles—everybody, and [saw] what they wanted. ‘Clef was like, ‘Let’s do what we do.’ We went in to start a movement with a lot of musicians.”

The Fugees frontman tried to aid the country by unsuccessfully running for president of Haiti, but there’s no love lost for recent elect Michel Martelly.

“Right now, Haiti got a whole new president, which Wyclef did a wonderful job of helping. It’s a great movement,” he explained. “Me and Wyclef, we talk every day. He’s in Haiti, and I’m up here working with the Yéle. I’m the co-chairman of the Yéle Haiti. There’s a lot of good things. Me and ‘Clef, we still do a couple of shows when he gets a minute. He’ll come back from Haiti and go right here. That’s where we are. We’re family, we’re cousins.”

–Steven J. Horowitz

It’s been over five years since the Fugees performed together, but a reunion could be on the horizon. Jerry “Wonda” Duplessis, who produced the majority of the tracks on the trio’s 1996 Grammy-winning album The Score, claims that it’s only a matter of time before Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras Michel reignite the Fugees flame.

“I believe there will be a day when the Fugees get together, but everyone in the group’s gotta be ready,” he told Rap-Up.com. “The Fugees are definitely going to get back together. The time will come. You’ve gotta wait, man.”

The Haitian musician even tried to jumpstart their reconciliation on April Fools’ Day. Last week, he pulled a prank on his Twitter followers by writing that a Fugees reunion tour was in the works. “BIG NEWS!!! What we’ve been waitin for!!!! @MsHillMvngTrgt @wyclef @prasmichel got offered $50 mill with @LiveNation!!” he tweeted.

As it turns out, the gag rippled further than expected. “In my studio, I was getting crazy phone calls and mad emails. My Twitter was going heavy. People all over the globe were saying, ‘Is it true? We really want the Fugees!’” he explained. “Lauryn was getting phone calls. Wyclef was getting phone calls. Pras was getting phone calls. I felt that if tickets had gone on sale, it would have been sold out in two hours—globally.”

While the Fugees don’t have any plans etched in stone, Duplessis has his memories to fall back on. “I could tell you that the old days were lovely, and if I could go back again, I definitely would,” he said. “But it’s a whole new era for me right now.”

–Steven J. Horowitz

Shortly after a bullet reportedly grazed his hand during a trip to Haiti, Wyclef Jean is speaking out about his injury. The Haitian musician recounted his brush with death and fired back at rumors that his story was fabricated.

The former Fugees member, who refused to speculate on whether the attack was politically motivated, offered his take on what happened on the eve of the presidential election in his native country. “We hear what’s called in Creole ‘catoosh,’ the sound of the booms. Jumped in the car with [Haitian artist] FanFan, ran, picked my crew up, and went to the nearest hospital,” he told CNN with Pras by his side. “I think really, I got grazed, I think. Pras, when he put on Twitter that his cousin just got shot in the hand…”

Pras, who recently patched up his longtime beef with Wyclef, said he’d rather the media focus on the current Haitian election instead of the recent incident. “We don’t really want to focus on that, because we think it’s just a distraction from what’s going on with the election,” he stated. “We don’t really want to play it up because people are going to take it the wrong way and it’s going to excite the people. People are going to come up in arms. We want this election to be as smooth as possible.”

“That’s really where we at,” added ‘Clef, who is supporting fellow Haitian musician Michel Martelly’s bid for presidency. “But there’s 50 million different stories on the Internet.”

There has been speculation that he was injured by cut glass instead of a bullet. “This is Haiti, it’s a city of rumors,” he told the AP as he went to vote. “There’s another [rumor] with me and Busta Rhymes in the car.”

Wyclef Jean has been released from the hospital after being shot in the hand in his native Haiti.

The former Fugees member was treated for a gunshot wound to his hand, a spokesman for Jean tells The Associated Press.

The incident occurred after 11 p.m. Saturday in the city of Delmas, near Port-au-Prince, when armed gunmen reportedly opened fire on Jean’s vehicle. His fellow Fugees member Pras and brother Samuel confirmed the reports.

“Yes they shot Wyclef and he’s in the hospital and he’ll be fine. They just shot his hand,” tweeted Pras. “Everyone can relax Wyclef is fine… They can’t stop us not one bullet or a machine gun!!!!!!!”

The shooting comes on the eve of the presidential elections in Haiti. Jean is supporting fellow Haitian musician Michel Martelly.

Commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Haiti earthquake, Wyclef Jean takes it to the studio to rep for his native country in the video for “Earthquake,” a track off his If I Were President: My Haitian Experience EP. Wearing a turquoise-plaid jacket and poised in front of a microphone, the presidential hopeful sings to Mother Earth on the acoustic tune, backed by soulful singers, congo players, and a bassist. Watch Clef’s personal ode to Haiti below.

Today may be Election Day, but Wyclef Jean is stretching out his interest in politics to the end of the year. The Haitian singer-songwriter is readying the digital release of a political six-song EP If I Were President: My Haitian Experience, due December 7.

The new collection of tracks, co-executive produced by Wyclef and his brother Sedeck, has already spawned the single “Election Time,” for which Jean co-directed a video in his native Haiti with director Steve Halloun.

“I have to show all the sides of Haiti,” Clef says of the clip. “There is still beauty in Haiti and I have to show the beauty and the ugly reality that is going to change. It will change.”

The former presidential hopeful also plans to embark on a world tour in 2011, bringing his homeland to the four corners of the world.

Wyclef Jean reflects on his failed bid for the Haitian presidency on “Death Threats” and “Election Time,” two politically-minded tracks off his 2011 album If I Were President: My Haitian Experience. On the bobbing “Death Threats,” Wyclef reflects on yesteryear, when he waved a flag in the air for his people and is now only faced with threats against his life. The optimistic first single “Election Time” is noticeably brighter, featuring a choir chanting behind him on the chorus. March with Clef by listening below.

“Election Time”

“Death Threats”

Wyclef Jean announced earlier this month that he was ready to hit the presidential campaign trail in Haiti, but today the former Fugees member must accept the fact that he is ineligible to take part in the election.

Haiti’s election committee announced that the 40-year-old musician will not be allowed to run for president of the impoverished country. The commission did not express the reason why Wyclef failed to meet the eligibility requirements. Haiti requires presidential candidates to have resided in the country for five consecutive years, own property, and have no other citizenship but Haitian.

While the singer spent Thursday (Aug. 19) on “Larry King Live,” refuting claims that he was disqualified from running in the Haitian presidential campaign, he revealed his sentiments following the electoral commission’s decision. “Though I disagree with the ruling, I respectfully accept the committee’s final decision, and I urge my supporters to do the same,” Wyclef said in a statement.

Besides Jean’s rejection from the candidacy, his uncle, Raymond Joseph, who is Haiti’s ambassador to the United States, was also rejected.

The rumors are true: Wyclef Jean is officially running for the Haitian presidency. The 40-year-old singer-turned-politician announced his bid earlier this week, after talk surfaced of his involvement in the upcoming elections.

The former Fugees member has been a staunch supporter of his native Haiti, acting as the spokesman for the country and aid organizer following the earthquake that destroyed residents’ homes and spirits on January 12. After numbers showed more than 200,000 people were killed and left homeless, Wyclef knew he had to get more involved.

“The suffering of the people of Haiti, the youth of Haiti—which is the majority of the population—can’t take another five years of the corruption that’s been going on for the past 200 years. This is why I’m running,” Jean tells PEOPLE magazine.

Some may take the “Gone Till November” hitmaker’s running as a joke, but he assures that he’s a qualified candidate for the position, having lived in Haiti for five years as well as owned property there. Even his Yéle Haiti organization, which he founded in 2005, was created with the hopes of changing the island’s negative landscape.

“Automatically, when people first see me they’re going to say, ‘Isn’t that the guy from the Fugees?’” says Jean. “But I’m hoping that next they’ll say, ‘OK. He knows what he’s talking about.’”

–Georgette Cline

International superstar and humanitarian Wyclef Jean has his hands full as of late. In the wake of the tragic earthquake in Haiti, the former Fugees member wasted no time in performing at telethons and raising money for the victims of his homeland through his Yéle Haiti organization. But even a man set on taking global issues head-on sets aside time to kick a rhyme for a different cause.

During a blistering cold snowstorm in New York City on Wednesday (Feb. 10), Wyclef kept the Canal Room smoking hot by performing his signature hits for “Live Sets,” a series of live online concerts sponsored by Sony’s new global brand message make.believe (pronounced “make dot believe”).

Wyclef and his band took the small audience on a cultured journey they wouldn’t forget. Besides those in attendance, a live stream provided fans the chance to watch the concert from the comforts of home. The Haitian MC consistently referred to viewers watching the stream so as not to upset those who couldn’t make the trip due to inclement weather.

Surprisingly, Wyclef opened the show by playing guitar riffs with his teeth. The small and intimate setting allowed him to interact with his audience in such a personal way that the stage became an extension of the dance floor. Women climbed up on the stage just to ask Wyclef to shower them with his half-empty Poland Spring water bottle.

To listeners’ excitement, Clef debuted a Runners production from his forthcoming self-titled album called “Seventeen.” He declared all the females to find their inner adolescent, to which they happily obliged. Mothers left their children in the audience to hop on stage and dance, acting like teens all over again.

The spirit of Haiti was an underlying theme throughout the show, with Haitian flags flying in the crowd. In honor of his native people, Wyclef performed “Hold On,” then switched the vibe by moving into a Carnival-inspired track. Fans jumped and moved, swinging whatever piece of loose clothing they could find over their heads.

Classic Fugees material was a highlight of the night as well. Wyclef, with the help of his South-African backup singer Zulu, performed “Fu-Gee-La” and “Ready or Not.” The singer-rapper even freestyled over Lil Wayne’s “A Milli.” To close out the evening’s festivities, Wyclef, guitar in hand, plucked through a modern version of the “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Two more Sony make.believe “Live Sets” are anticipated for the spring.

–Bilal “Blogzworth” Morris