I know country people who have The Carnival.
I know that the nice shines I have on is going to pass. The nice cars will pass. All that will stay is the music and the work. That's where I get the inspiration to help people out and work
It was important that I became successful. People say they do it for the love, and yes, you do it for the love, but you want to be successful
I was looking for Quincy Jones, that's who I was obsessed with. Watching Mike [Jackson], I always knew that I had to be a showman on stage, because when people come to you live you always want them to come back. You gotta give them something to remember.
I want people to experience what it's like being from Haiti, coming to America, being Wyclef - multicultural, multilingual.
I think it's cool to do stuff in a different language. Basically, I learned English through listening to rap. A lot of people think it's funny. But it's true; I used to try to get the accents.
People often associate raves with drugs, but for me raves are more associated with self-expression.
I'm like Cab Calloway: I love the entertainment, and I've loved entertaining people ever since I was little.
On all my records, I just write about what people are going through, so when I go through the airport, I'm going through what you're going through. So I write it just like we go through it.
What I picked up on Michael Jackson - because I study people when I watch them - the way that he counts his rhythm with his feet and his neck at the same time is crazy... so he's hearing multiple things at once. And I don't know anybody who does that.
When I have to make records for people and records for myself, it's two different approaches.
'Masquerade' is the autobiography of Wyclef Jean. A lot of people know me through my work with Carlos Santana or Destiny's Child, winning all those Grammy Awards, but you do not know what is going on inside me.
When I think about the biggest studios in New York, they're owned by people that are not musicians or artists, and artists come in and spend their money there, and they'd rather do that, as opposed to getting the headache. So they pay someone else to get the headache.
What I learned from people like Carlos Santana is that you cannot get too happy after working for five years in the industry. It takes years and years, and I learned to keep a straight head and keep on working harder and harder.
At the end of the day, just know that God made you, so you can be your own individual, and don't let people give you that peer pressure.
I always want to know what's wrong with you, why you ain't smiling. That's just my character; I just love people and want to see people having a good time.