Some celebrities are known for their philanthropic work, whether it be giving back to the community or volunteering their time for a specific cause. Here’s a list of celebrities who dug deep in their hearts and wallets to donate big when a natural disaster struck:

WENN

When a catastrophic earthquake rocked the tiny Caribbean country of Haiti, it killed more than 230,000 and left millions more without a home. Former Fugees frontman Wyclef Jean was one of the first people who made their way down to his home country to help search for survivors. In addition to helping out physically, the rapper/producer used the power of social media to ask for help, raising more than $1 million for Yele Haiti with a single tweet. All of Jean’s hard work would be overshadowed a year later when his charity came under fire for allegedly squandering millions of dollars in donations. Jean has since released a statement acknowledging the organization’s mistakes and vowed to continue on. “The new and good news is that Yele, under new leadership, despite efforts to undermine its credibility and effectiveness, continues its mission to serve people in need.”

Source: WENN

While I’m always for people lending a helping hand to folks, and Lauryn Hill could definitely use some help paying off her tax debt (and with a few other things), the idea that Wyclef Jean would offer out of all the people in the world just seems…odd. But that’s what he has done.

In an interview with DJ Green Lantern and Boss Lady on the Sirius radio show Invasion Radio, ‘Clef acted as if he wasn’t aware of her tax troubles or that she was even facing sentencing (which was postponed this week until early May), but he wanted to make it clear that despite their past squabbles, he wouldn’t want to see her end up in jail, or to see anything bad happen to her at all.

“That’s deep. What I could say to that is that at the end of the day, my heart goes out to her. I’m realizing…I have not been following that news at all…But I definitely wish her the best. That’s definitely a serious issue. Once again, if she’s listening, at the end of the day, my door is always open. I never closed my door to her in a sense of, if she ever needed anything, I was never the one to block–but she had mad people around her. But at the end of the day it’s one thing I learned about life. We could beef as much as we want, but if something was to really happen to her, I would feel bad. My arms is open…This is the first that I’m hearing about this news…but if she’s listening, I’m open.”

Hmmm. And on top of that, ‘Clef discussed the attempts in the past to get the Fugees back together and why each time was futile. A lot of if had to do with a lack of trust between members he claims, and he talks about how it led to him creating the very epic “Hips Don’t Lie” with Shakira–one of the best selling singles of all-time:

“Dave Chappelle got the Fugees together. He came and met us individually, and he didn’t have a deep story. He was just like, ‘I love the band. I think you guys should come rock with me.’ He’s funny, he’s pure, and he’s honest, and I felt other people were trying to get the band back together so that they could make billions. It’s hard with the Fugees because money never came first for us, integrity always come first. We ended up doing that, I thought it was great. When we went to the studio, keep in mind, when we did The Score, or when I met L and Pras when I was little…it was clear what everybody did in the group. What I am to the Fugees is like what will.i.am is to the Black Eyed Peas, it’s clear. I felt like once we came back, I felt like that trust was lost. I didn’t have that title no more…So then I went on and I worked with Shakira and I gave her the biggest song of all time. Written by Wyclef Jean, get it straight. I felt sad about the Fugees thing though.”

“There has to be a level of trust on what is it that every individual is doing. Like me, I’m a producer. What I’m best at doing is, I know how to create artists. I know how to blow up artists. I do it over, and over and over again…The time that  I worked with Lauryn and the amount of stuff I put together with her, I haven’t come across a female remotely close. When she’s focused the talent is the most ridiculous. It sounds like four aliens in one. For me, I respected her in that sense and she respected me as a producer. But I think what hapened was, so much time had passed and so much new groups were coming out so it was like, “Does this dude still got it?” And then I went on and tapped that thing for Shakira, but I was more wanting to do it for the Fugees, but if I went to the Fugees I wouldn’t have had “Hips Don’t Lie.”

Seems ‘Clef and Lauryn have just been at odds for too long. But I wouldn’t encourage her to take this man’s offer, seeing as how he’s been dogging her in public for the last few years. Especially after that whole issue he brought up for his memoir claiming she told him that her son, Zion, was actually his. Just seems like another thing for him to throw back in her face in the future. Run Lauryn, RUN!

What do you think about his comments?

Making it in the music industry as a solo artist is hard enough but when there are two or more people in a group, tensions are bound to arise because mo’ money plus mo’ people equal mo’ problems. Although they made beautiful music together, these 15 popular rap and R&B groups just couldn’t set aside their differences in the long run.

Arrested Development

Afrocentric alternative hip-hop group Arrested Development became very popular in the early 90′s. Founded by Speech and his former best friend, DJ Headliner, along with Dionne Farris and spiritual leader Baba Oje, they are best known for their song “Everyday People.” In 1993 the group won Grammys for Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance. They were also tapped by Spike Lee to record a song for his “Malcolm X” biopic that same year. However, Arrested Development never eclipsed the success they had with their debut album. Their sophomore album was panned by critics and shortly after that the group broke up due to “creative differences.” The band patched things up four years later but things were never the same as they struggled to reclaim their popularity in the U.S. Today, the group continues to tour internationally and released their 10th album in 2012.

Source: WENN

Unnecessary is the only word that actually comes to mind when I think about the references made to R&B songtress, Lauryn Hill in Wyclef Jean’s latest memoir, Purpose: An Immigrants Story, which hit bookshelves back in September. The book appears to cover various aspects of Jean’s life; however, the most talked about and seemingly most relevant story told is the one where he makes reference to his love affair with the former group member. Although this toxic romance was one that most Hip-Hop heads were already aware of, he took it a step further when he proceeded to drag old skeletons out of the closet surrounding their relationship, going as far as to say that he was deceived into believing that Lauryn’s first born child, Zion, was his. Now, whether his accusations were true or not, those are some pretty damaging words, especially considering the fact that the affair was now water under the bridge and he was now discussing a child who is old enough to understand what’s going on. But, whatever, this isn’t a Wyclef bashing session.

Many waited with anticipation for Hill to shoot out a rebuttal through her publicist either confirming, denying or even expressing her feelings on her former group member’s accusation, but for nearly two months she remained silent. And finally, when the hype around the memoir had died down and she felt like she was ready to speak on it, she broke her silence during a concert in Dallas. I respect the fact that she didn’t allow anyone to force her into responding and that she didn’t react in an emotional fit of rage. She was calm, cool and collected:

“A lot of misunderstanding out there. A lot of miscommunication out there. A lot of false information out there. And notice, out of all the people who talk talk talk, who’s the silent one.”

“There’s a lot of chatter, but me…. And you know why? Let me tell you why I don’t chat back. Because I know that my brothers and my sisters are often times pawns in a bigger scheme so when they, under pressure, attack me. It’s called the high road. Try taking it sometimes.”

Her level-headed and sensible response did something for me deep down inside. It was much deeper than me being a big Lauryn Hill fan and feeling content because she got the last word. In that moment I realized that it didn’t really matter if she ever responded to the claims because she was at peace with herself and the situation and furthermore, she doesn’t owe anyone an explanation. She represented a woman who knew how to let go of the past and refused to slop around in the mud with someone who no longer held a position of importance in her life. It was eye-opening. It was liberating. It made me take inventory of how I handle the Wyclefs in my own life. Most of all, it got me to thinking and wondering how much happier and freer so many of us would be if we embarked on this high road as well.

I’m sure we all have at least one person in our lives running their traps about us. But, whether their statements are valid or not, we are not obligated to go tit for tat, especially when it comes to exes. Men sometimes have the ability to be extremely insensitive once a relationship is over and the things that come out of their mouths can be hurtful, but getting into petty disputes over it and always feeling the need to make sure people know “how it really went down” is only a backwards way of being dragged back into the relationship. In doing this, you ultimately limit yourself from moving past the situation and hinder your heart from fully healing. It is easy to feel as if you’ve lost when you’re not spitting hot venom back at those who are slamming you, but sometimes silence says so much more.

Jazmine Denise is a writer living in New York. Follow her on Twitter @jazminedenise

Source: WENN

The time has come for Lauryn Hill to speak out, sort of, about the latest drama that’s been following her. After her tax situation, she wrote a very personal letter about her trials over the years, and now while on the road performing with Nas on the Life Is Good/Black Rage tour, Lauryn addressed the stories Wyclef has dug up about her as of late.

As we’ve talked about many a time, Wyclef has released a memoir exposing a lot of his past with the Fugees singer, including a claim that Lauryn initially told him her son Zion was his. So far, Lauryn has kept quiet through all the talk, but at her show in Dallas, she finally addressed it — and subliminally laid into Clef:

When you are on the other side of liberation, just make sure you are not late. Be careful how you judge, there is a lot of deception out there. A lot of misunderstanding out there. A lot of miscommunication out there. A lot of false information out there.  And notice, out of all the people who talk talk talk, who’s the silent one.  There’s a lot of chat, but me….

And you know why? Let me tell you why I don’t chat back.  Because I know that my brothers and my sisters are often times pawns in a bigger scheme so when they, under pressure, attack me, I love them still.  It’s called the high road. Try taking it sometimes.

I’m not going to play my hand like the suppressive system would have me play my hand. Because I know [about] the oppression that took place in Haiti, and Jamaica, and America, and Africa and Europe. So just be patient. The truth always surfaces and especially, all you black folks out there who have had black mothers who carried you through thick and thin, when the system wanted to call them crazy, just remember that.

OK, Miss Hill. What do you think about what she had to say?

You know I know I’m not crazy, that’s why I can use the word so freely. Crazy like a fox? Ahead of the curve. People don’t like people that’s ahead of the curve but unfortunately that’s not my problem.

Image: AP Photo/Diane Bondareff

Wyclef Jean isn’t just feeling the backlash because he was “telling his truth” about Lauryn Hill in his memoir Purpose. He’s also in actual legal trouble over his now-defunct charity Yéle.

If you recall, this charity was meant to bring much-needed relief and rebuilding to victims of the massive January 2010 earthquake that struck Haiti. People around the world were moved to help in the days, weeks and months following the devastating natural disaster. Moreover, Wyclef’s name as a recording artist and candidate for president of Haiti helped the charity quickly raise about $16 million. Just as quickly, Wyclef was being accused of using the charity’s funds for things other than helping the victims. In fact, The New York Times reports, that the charity and its financial dealings are still under investigation by New York’s attorney general.

“[T]he charity effectively went out of business last month, leaving a trail of debts, unfinished projects and broken promises,” the newspaper reports. Yéle was founded in 2004. ”Even as Yéle is besieged by angry creditors, an examination of the charity indicates that millions in donations for earthquake victims went to its own offices, salaries, consultants’ fees and travel, to Mr. Jean’s brother-in-law for projects never realized, to materials for temporary houses never built and to accountants dealing with its legal troubles,” the story continues.

Wyclef stepped down from his leadership position with the organization in 2010 when he began his presidential run. The New York attorney general had, shortly before, offered Jean a settlement of $600,000 for misuse of the charity’s funds. That offer was turned down. That offer is also equal to the value of the offices that Yéle occupied in Haiti. Today, the property is abandoned, all signs of the tents and other aid that had been handed out has disappeared and all volunteer groups that were organized have disbanded. Yéle is even being accused of accepting aid and not paying what it agreed to.

An audit found that the financial mishandling began long before the earthquake. Expenses included private jets for Wyclef and his family and friends (Lindsay Lohan?!), chauffeurs, landscaping, “office-related expenses,” and even payment to Wyclef at “his market rate” of $100,000.

Hundreds of thousands died after the quake and more than one million people were left homeless. To this day, 369,000 remain displaced, living in tents and other makeshift accommodations. Using money meant to benefit homeless and hungry people for personal gain when you’re already a well-paid celebrity is despicable and ugly. A charity spokesperson said Wyclef is “committed to ensuring that things are made right.”

By Nikki Coco

Writing this piece locks me into a time machine and positions me dead in the center amid beat boxers, feisty Ritas, extension braids, the after-school crew and rebels…some with a cause – others for no good reason at all. You were me and I was you. I used to love it when my friends referred to me as Lauryn Hill; I still do.

In your typecast role as Rita in Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit, that was the first time I had ever seen a chick screw up her face as hard as I had as an equally rough around the edges, obstinate and head strong hormonal teenager. Admittedly, I do not believe for one second that your role in the film was a far stretch from the real Lauryn – just sayin’. We both grew up with a strict-as-hell mother, who worked hard to pay the bills. For years to come the film would remain highly favored in my Siskel and Ebert-esque ranks. I remember so well when you came and graced Toronto’s Much Music stage by performing hits off of your debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. You signed the back of a photo that I keep safely stashed away in an album in a Rubbermaid container in my room. It was summertime; Toronto was really feeling you, or so it seemed.

Years passed following your debut album and subsequent sophomore MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 release. By then, some had noticed that L. Boogie was on a different “tip” [as we Torontonians say] than you had been since your appearance onto the music scene both as part of the dynamic trio The Fugees, and later as a soloist. Many had noticed that L. Boogie was on a no-holds-bar path; yet and still, I held your lyrical content and overall skill and ability with high esteem. Indeed you had changed. Some blamed your ex-partner Rohan, others blamed Wyclef. I am not sure that we will ever know what prompted your sudden shift in demeanor; I do however suspect that it had much-a-do with the media bombardment that you had received as it regarded your relationship, your choosing to birth a son at such a crucial stage in your career, as you articulated ever so affectionately in the tune whose title was borrowed from his namesake – “Zion.”

For years you were largely removed from the public eye, yet thoughts of Ms. Hill – as you had since opted to be called – permeated through the reins of popular culture forums. Having birthed four additional children with Marley well into the late 2000s [and another without Marley], we saw you again retreat from showbiz. You made somewhat of a comeback by appearing annually as part of the celebrated hip-hop concert “Rock the Bells” line-up, as well as gracing other concert stages.

In January 2011, after a heckuva long hiatus you returned to perform in Toronto. Fans had waited for over a decade for you to return to our beloved city. Though they had been eager to see you, all the while throughout the industry’s pipeline they had heard the not so great murmurs about you: “She never shows up on time,” “She’s gone mad,” “She hasn’t come out with a new album in years, what’s she gonna perform?” All in all, that particular performance received mixed reviews from critics and fans alike, with the commentary leaning on the side of lacklustre and enraged emotions due to your tardiness. As much as I had wanted to go, I didn’t actually make it to that show. With all the raucous that had been made through the grapevine, I was kind of glad that I didn’t. I wanted to ride or die for Lauryn but with all the bad press, somehow I started to realize that I couldn’t.

Flash forward to a couple of weeks ago when news of your return to Toronto once more hit the air waves, Twitter feeds, and other media sites. This time, I–like many others–did not want to go. The negativity and bad reviews had gotten the best of me. Luckily, my sister insisted on buying tickets for the show; let’s just say I’m glad she did. After having seen you perform live for a second time, I can honestly remark that you are a lyrical and musical genius beyond describable words, connecting so well with the crowd, while also keeping it real with us, and is also stunningly beautiful live in the flesh. All this talk about you having old songs was completely thrown out the window because as far as I’m concerned, you did things to old songs that I didn’t know could even be done. Case closed.

This leads me to believe that what we needed to have been feeling for you all along was the compassion that seems to be the missing component in a lot of interrogations of celebrities. Shoot, you’re human too. You have been demonized in epic ways [especially by your former lovers and fans] as if you owe us something. You don’t owe us an album; you don’t owe us your time, and you sure as heck don’t owe us an apology. I reckon what makes celebrities have the tendency to breakdown and/or resort to a life of drugs and alcohol is the immense pressure that they tend to receive from the general public. I mean, thank goodness you haven’t taken that path but, even though you haven’t done anything of the sort, you’ve been branded as this lunatic of a human being for having cut your hair off, given birth to six children and for singing about politics, religion and Paul Bogle. What part of the game is that?

In a world that is so caught up on “keeping up appearances” and towing the line, you my dear have chosen to march to the beat of your own drum. How real. In a world where black mothers have been constantly deemed unfit, erratic and unnurturing, you have chosen to put your children first and it showed at the concert this past Saturday when you brought your son Joshua out on stage to recite his own rap, and when you gently kissed him on the forehead before he walked off stage. Yes, L – at that point it all became so clear to me – you are in fact a human being. Your departure from the frontlines has nothing to do with us and everything to do with you and your family, and rightly so. As a mother, I understand all too well the reason as to why you would want to protect your children from the harsh realities of this world.

Much love,

Nikki

P.S., – you were right, all along we had been miseducated about you.

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From EurWeb

Last week we published part one of our story gleaned from our interview with world-renowned performer and activist Wyclef Jean.

In that piece our focus was on getting the entire Lauryn Hill story out in the open as the section that deals with the Fugees break up is the most talked about chapter of his new book “Purpose: An Immigrant’s Story” thus far.

In this installment I talk to Wyclef about his would be presidential campaign in Haiti, how that dream fell apart and what’s next up on his plate.

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Source: WENN/Fayes Vision

While everyone has been throwing shade at Wyclef over his new memoir “Purpose” and wondering how Lauryn Hill and her son Zion will react to Clef’s allegation that he initially thought he was the Zions father, no one has even considered how Rohan, Zion’s actual father, might feel about all this. Well, leave it to TMZ to get the exclusive from the son of reggae legend Bob Marley who essentially says Wyclef is on one.

“[He] knew from jump that was my son from the day [Lauryn] was pregnant,” Rohan told the site.

Though he may need to take off the rose colored glasses on this point, Rohan doesn’t even think Lauryn and Wyclef were messing around at the same time that he was involved with the “miseducated” singer. From his view:

“They were definitely not messing around, or he would never have given me the okay.”

That would be kind of messed up for Wyclef to tell Rohan to date Lauryn if he was still sleeping with her, but considering Wyclef was cheating on his wife at the same time, we can’t expect too much from him. As far as Rohan is concerned,  Wyclef is ”just saying false things to get book headlines.” Wyclef on the other hand is sticking to his story, telling TMZ:

“There is no way that I would have shown up in the hospital in that circumstance to wait for a baby to be born if it was not mine. The idea of a memoir is to tell the truth. I know that often the truth hurts, but a lie hurts even more.”

Um, so does that mean Rohan wasn’t at the hospital when Zion was born? This whole situation is getting a little too twisted.

Whose story do you believe?

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A lot of Lauryn Hill fans have a bit of a bone to pick with Wyclef now that they’ve gotten word of his new memoir and the details about the questionable paternity of the singer’s first son, Zion, included therein. Yesterday, Wendy Williams got Wyclef to have a little seat on her couch and explain why he was digging all this dirt up 12 years later, and when Wendy asked the former Fugees member if he gave L-Boogie a heads up about the book, he said this:

No I didn’t call Lauryn because Lauryn knows the story. There’s over a thousand people who know this story. What I wanted history to document was the truth.

When Lauryn did “The Miseducation there were a lot of Lauryn Hill fans saying, “Clef done broke Lauryn Hill’s heart.” After Wyclef Jean, Lauryn had five kids and my responsibility is to apologize for sins in my twenties, but we all have to move forward as adults. If you read the entire book, I am not disrespecting Lauryn in any form, in any sense.

Wyclef went on to say that the chances of the Fugees getting back together after all of this drama are slim to none, and also said he doesn’t have any contact with Lauryn Hill at all — just as his wife would have it. According to him, in his book he’s just telling his own truth.

Are you going to check out Wyclef’s “Purpose” memoir?

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