Songoftheday 7/4/22 -If death comes for me tonight girl, I want you to know that I love you...

 

 

"911" - Wyclef Jean featuring Mary J. Blige

from the album The Ecleftic:2 Sides II A Book (2000) 

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #38 (two weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 3

Today's song comes from rapper/singer/producer Wyclef Jean, who after being a part of the seminal hip-hop collective the Fugees, scored a top ten pop hit in the spring of 1998 with "Gone Till November". In the following couple of years, Jean focused more on production and writing work, having a hand in such big hits as Santana's "Maria Maria", Whitney Houston's "My Love Is Your Love", and Destiny Child's "No, No, No". 

Wyclef returned in the beginning of 2000 with a contribution to the soundtrack of the movie Next Friday, "Low Income", which popped on to the R&B Singles chart in Billboard magazine at #72. That song would appear later that year his second solo disc The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II A Book, and boy was it eclectic. Featuring cameos as diverse as Whitney Houston to Earth Wind & Fire to Kenny Rogers along with a cover of Pink Floyd, the expansive record certainly tried to expand his musical boundaries. Another hype track from the record, "Thug Angels" slipped on to the R&B chart at #100 in June of 2000. 

The "official" first single from Ecleftic was "It Doesn't Matter", which featured the duo Melky Sedeck and at the time pro-wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. While the track, which interpolated the John Denver classic "Take Me Home, Country Roads", got a cold reception in the U.S., stalling at #80 on the R&B chart, the track became an unexpected hit internationally, peaking at #3 in the UK, #8 in Canada, and #9 in Ireland. 

Jean course-corrected with the next release, however, joining up with the "queen of hip-hop soul", Mary J. Blige. Mary had scored a pair of top-40 crossover pop hits from her 1997 album Share My World, "I Can Love You" and "Everything". But while her follow-up record Mary went to #2 on the album charts and sold a couple million, the big single from the record, "All That I Can Say", stalled under the pop top-40 in the autumn of 1999. Jean and Blige's new collab, "911", also pulled an interpolation from an odd source, this time Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians top ten adult-pop hit "What I Am". In the song, Jean sings about a dangerous romantic relationship, one that has him on the run from the police, and asking her to lie for him. But on the other hand, Jean and Blige is singing about being shot through the heart, though whether literal or figurative is left to the imagination. It's a real subtle and nuanced track, with lots of emotion but not grandstanding. The acoustic guitar works with the reggae cadence, and while it may not be his most recognizable composition, its definitely worthy of its success...

"911" returned both Wyclef and Mary to the pop top-40 in America in November of 2000. The song climbed to #6 on Billboard's R&B Singles chart as well, becoming Wyclef's highest rank on the list as a lead artist. Internationally, the single spent six weeks at #1 in Norway, as well as five in Sweden, and reached the top ten in Finland (#4), the Netherlands (#8), the United Kingdom (#9), Switzerland (#9), Denmark (#9), Ireland (#10), and Portugal (#10). It also made the top-40 in France (#11), Belgium (#11W/#16F), Germany (#12), Austria (#21), Canada (#27), and Italy (#34). The Ecleftic album, released in August of that year, was Wyclef's first top ten solo record on the Billboard 200 sales tally at #9, and peaked at #3 on the R&B Albums list, going on to sell over a million copies. At the Grammy Awards in 2001, "911" was nominated for Best R&B Duo/Group Vocal Performance, losing out to former proteges Destiny's Child for "Say My Name". 

The next release from Ecleftic was Miami Bass-adjacent "Perfect Gentleman", which failed to make the main top-100 pop and R&B charts, only becoming a minor hit at the dance-oriented Rhythmic radio format, where it went to #21. However it continued his success overseas, landing another top ten hit in Belgium (#2W/#7F), the United Kingdom (#4), Sweden (#4), Germany (#7), Ireland (#7), Norway (#7), and Denmark (#8). Lastly, Jean's re-invention of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here", released as the fourth single, made the top-40 in Norway (#19), the United Kingdom (#28), Ireland (#38), and Germany (#40). Both Wyclef Jean and Mary J. Blige will be back to the series.

(7/10)

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Here's Wyclef doing a jazz to rock intimate take for his Tommy Hilfiger Sessions in Madrid, Spain...

And lastly, Jean and Blige performing "911" at Carnegie Hall...

 

 Up tomorrow: This patterned country singer busts a move.