Wyclef Jean, 'Slow Down' (Sessions)

AOL: How did the performance feel out there?
WJ: For me, the performance is just the most natural thing to me. I've been performing since a baby. A lot of us have church roots. My dad was a minister, so the element of a band and a camera just feels right at home for me.
AOL: What were you looking for in people you wanted to work with on this record?
WJ: This album was my producer's album, because Wyclef Jean is a producer first. Because I'm good-looking and I've got a nice body and I'm pretty much in shape, when I get out there, you know, the fans are screaming and everyone's looking at me as an artist first, but I'm not an artist. I'm a producer and a composer. So my whole album is like a play. It's like, "Wyclef Jean, Memoirs of an Immigrant." Then you look for the cast that's gonna be believable. And I'm just happy with the cast because no one can say they have Paul Simon and Lil Wayne on the same record. That won't exist.
AOL: How much does it give you as an artist to be able to work with those different people, because everybody has a different style?
WJ: I got respect for every producer in the game. But how can I be modest in saying this? But I'm really one of the best. The reason why is because I don't have no limit when it comes to range. I've never believed that we should be put in a box because of our color, or the neighborhood that we grew up in. Even when I was in the hood, I was like, "Who are you listening to?" "I like Pink Floyd." They're like, "You're listening to a dude that's pink, man?! What's wrong with you, homey?" I'm like, "No, it's a band!" But it's my thing is to break those barriers. And it's all about that universal music. Music comes from a good place.