On The Scene: Leona, Alicia, Bounty, Christina, Amy and Wyclef

Awww...look at this cutey pie!!! Can you guess who's the Mommy???

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Click HERE to find out!

Wyclef accused once again, this time for giving Yele money to his alleged lover

First they say that he misappropriated Yele Haiti funds by paying himself and associates. He said yes he received money but he charged below market rates for services provided. Now according to Gawker Wyclef Jean is again being accused of having sticky fingers: they allege that a significant amount of Yele funds went to his assistant with whom he allegedly had an affair. Funny how it takes a major earthquake to get people digging for dirt eh. Read Wyclef's tweets about the matter below:

From Gawker.com:

Khatou-Chevassus is currently listed on Yele's web site as the organization's vice president. But according to five sources familiar with Yele's operations, in 2008 she served as Jean's personal assistant--working on his commercial endeavors as well as his charitable ones--and was involved romantically with the former Fugees star.

"She worked for Wyclef on all Wyclef matters," says one source who has worked with Jean in the past. "She did whatever Wyclef needed that day, whether it was related to Yele or not. She would do things like book flights, and she wasn't very good at it. It's a shame that she made that much money." The source said Khatou-Chevassus' salary amounted to more than three times what Suzie Sylvain, Yele Haiti's dedicated program director who is credited by many Yele Haiti insiders with actually keeping the organization running, was paid.

Jean has again come to his defense, this time on Twitter. Some of his tweets from Monday, March 15, include:

•When Donkeys spread rumors about me I dont Respond cause I'm the master that leads them to the Well to drink the Water. Yele haiti 4 life!
•I have been spending money n my country since I was a Fugees! why is it now after the Quake I am being Excuse! They fear I'm gaining ground
•And don't get it twisted! My Garage could fit half of the people on twitter why would I steal Charity Money! Your gotta come better den dat.

Source

Despite whatever fustration he is feeling, I still think Clef need to handle this with class. Bragging about how big your garge is doesn't help...for all these people accussing you know, is Yele Haiti money that pay for it. All I have to say is I see Wyclef putting in work in Haiti from time. Please keep in mind people when you donate to the Red Cross only 10% or so actually goes to Haiti...so why all this scrutiny on Wyclef. I'm not saying that if he did something wrong that it has to be swept under the table but why we trying to make him a scapegoat????

Wyclef Jean is Harvard University's artist of the year 2010!

This Saturday Feb. 27th Wyclef Jean will be honored at the Harvard Foundation's Cultural Rhythms award ceremonywhere he will receive the honor for Artist Of The Year 2010.



Read about it on the Harvard Gazette website!

We Are the world 25 debuts during 2010 Winter Olympics

The revamped "We Are the World" made its world premiere Friday during NBC's coverage of the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics, and a simultaneous worldwide screening of the full, seven-minute version of the music video is planned for Saturday.

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The worldwide simulcast on 53 domestic and international channels is planned for 2 p.m. (1900 GMT) Eastern time.

A three-minute version of the video aired Friday. Filmed by Oscar winner Paul Haggis, the video shows images of devastation from the island nation after the January 12 earthquake that has claimed more than 200,000 lives.

It also shows some of the 85 artists who gathered in Los Angeles earlier this month to re-record the 1985 charity anthem.

Teen sensation Justin Bieber opens the song. Also featured are Jennifer Hudson and Nicole Scherzinger, Sugarland singer Jennifer Nettles, Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion and Fergie. Josh Groban, LL Cool J, Nick Jonas, Lil Wayne (and his auto-tune), Jeff Bridges, Kanye West, Miley Cyrus and Haitian-American singer Wyclef Jean also get screen time.

Michael Jackson, who co-wrote the original hit with Lionel Richie, is shown in a clip from the original music video. In the new version, Jackson, wearing his trademark 1980s pseudomilitary regalia, sings alongside his sister, Janet Jackson.

Richie and fellow producer Quincy Jones introduced the song Friday via video, saying money raised by its sales will provide food, shelter and medicine for the Haitian people.

Fans can download "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" online now. All proceeds will benefit earthquake recovery efforts in Haiti.

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world25.org

Stars support Haiti once more with the SOS telethon.

Celebs came out in full force to support Haiti at BET’s “SOS Save Ourselves: Help for Haiti” telethon which was held Friday Feb. 5th at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. Reportedly the event was spearheaded by Queen Latifah, Diddy and Pharrell who had the support of many stars including Common, Monica, Chris Brown, Wyclef Jean, Debra Lee and more.

The event started of with Haiti's most popular entertainer Wyclef Jean. He was joined by several Haitian artists for his song "Hold On" originally featuring Mavado.

clef sos
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Take a look at the video below of him shaking hands with President Bill Clinton before going into a medley which included his song "Sweetest Girl" featuring Akon, then came Black Dada with Imma Zoe and Haitian Fresh. They broke into Rara and Clef asked the crowd to wave something as they chanted Sak Pase Nam boule!






Here is Justin Beiber who starts off his song "One Less Lonely Girl" in French. He was also joined on stage by Ludacris. Talk about an unlikely pair.


India Arie who had been in Jamaica the night before for the EME awards performed at the event as well.

robin & india sos
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Busta Rhymes also performed a new song for Haiti.

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Nas and Damian Marley performed "The Strong Will Continue" from their Distant Relatives album.

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“This is for the strong,” Nas shouted. “This is for Haiti!”

I am so glad that Chris Brown is on somebody's stage. They boy is talented and I think he deserves to contribute to the event. I love the song "Crawl" which he performed and it is definitely inspiring.

cb sos
by yardie4lifever2

The show ended with a "Lean On Me" sing-a-long by hosts Diddy, Pharell and Queen Latifah. They were joined on stage by the performers and other stars such as Sean Kingston and Gloria Estefan.

Here's some pics from the event below:

Black Dada (brown top) and other Haitian artists join Wyclef on stage

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Akon with a Haitian flag

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Chris Brown, Justin Beiber, Sean Kingston and Monica at BET's SOS telethon for Haiti Feb. 5th 2010 at the Ameican Airlines arena in Miami FL.
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Izolan from Berikal, Keri Hilson and Wyclef Jean

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Wyclef taking calls at BET's Haitian Relief telethon

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Sean Paul on phones too!

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BET boss lady Debra Lee giving a thumbs up!

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Common working on the phones

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Nas and Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley

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Damian Marley on stage

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"Hope for Haiti Now" telethon raises $57 million

The two-hour "Hope For Haiti" telethon aired Friday night on the major networks and dozens of other channels, including MTV, Bravo, and PBS, and was also streamed live online. I personally watched on MySpace. Stars like Brad Pitt, Beyonce, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Reese Witherspoon, Steven Spielberg, George Clooney reached out to viewers to encourage donations for Haiti, following a Jan. 12 earthquake that killed an estimated 200,000 people.

Bono, Jay-Z and Rihanna perform the Swizz Beatz produced "Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)"

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It started off with Alicia Keys singing "Prelude to a Kiss." I don't know how she held in the emotion because I could tell that she was ready to cry. She even tweeted about that. Some persons have said the event was melancholic and sad but that is what you need in a telethon. You play the saddest songs, retell the saddest stories and show the saddest images so that even someone in maximum security prison will want to share some of his (or her:-) commissary. I loved Coldplay's performance as well as Justin Timberlake's. And Sting. Wow! Oh he made that guitar wail and on top of that he was backed by The Roots! Oh yes I'm in musical heaven. Beyonce's performace of "Halo" was moving and of course Jennifer Hudson delivered with "Let It Be." Wyclef brought in a bit of Haitian Rara music in his performance of "Rivers of Babylon/Yele." Bono, Jay-Z and Rihanna's performance was good, not a waw but I was kinda bewildered why she could not cover herself up for this event. There is a time and place for everything and that was not a moment to make a fashion statement. Just sayin'.

Apart from the performances you had a lot of celebs on the phones taking calls. Haitian actors Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon and Jimmy Jean-Louis were present. We heard Reese Witherspoon and Taylor Swift take calls. And others spoke directly to viewers including Bill Clinton, Mohammed Ali (through a note read by Chris Rock), and George Clooney who spearheaded the entire event.

We also got glimpses of personal stories of people affected by the earthquake. It was so cute seeing Anderson Cooper trying to speak French. Overall I was touched by the event and I am sure many, many, people around the globe are as well.

Wyclef Jean performs "Rivers of Babylon"

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The $57 million total released Saturday, includes money raised by phone, text and the Web. It does not include donations by corporations or via iTunes, where people are able to buy performances of the event for 99 cents each, or the entire album for $7.99. Those funds also go to Haiti relief.

The "Hope for Haiti Now" CD is the biggest one-day pre-order in the site's history and the new song "Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)" by Jay-Z, Rihanna, Bono and the Edge, debuted during the telethon, is the No. 1 single on iTunes.

People can donate via text, phone or through the "Hope for Haiti" Web site for the next six months. Among the organizations who will receive funds from the telethon include Oxfam America, UNICEF, and the Clinton-Bush Haiti Foundation.

Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon(who is from Haiti) and Ellen Barkin

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Haitian actor Jimmy Jean Louis and Ellen Degeneres

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Wyclef and Shakira

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Alicia Keys performing "Send Me An Angel"




Rihanna, Bono and Jay-Z performing "Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)"




Wyclef performing "Rivers of Babylon"

Hope For Haiti Concert and Telethon tonight!

"Hope for Haiti Now," is a two-hour, commercial-free concert to benefit the people of Haiti in the aftermath of last week's devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake.

Tonight's event begins at 8pm (ET/PT) and can be seen commercial-free on a number of networks including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, the CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, CMT and more.

During the concert, fans will be able to pre-order "Hope For Haiti Now," a compilation of the night's performances available on iTunes. The artists, record labels, and Apple will donate their share of the proceeds to Haiti relief funds managed by Hope For Haiti Now.


Folks in the Caribbean can watch on Tempo

You can also watch the show live on MySpace:

Just click HERE to view live stream

And on YouTube as well.


About Hope for Haiti Now:
A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief,” today announced its lineup of superstar musical performances. The global telethon will feature performances by Wyclef Jean, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, and Sting in New York City; Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift and a group performance by Keith Urban, Kid Rock, and Sheryl Crow in Los Angeles; and Coldplay, and a group performance by Bono, The Edge, Jay‐Z, and Rihanna in a newly added London location.

All musical performances will be available for purchase for $.99 per song through the Apple® iTunes® Store beginning Saturday, January 23, with all proceeds benefiting Haiti relief funds managed by “Hope for Haiti Now” charities.


In addition to musical performances, Wyclef Jean in New York City, George Clooney in Los Angeles, and CNN’s Anderson Cooper reporting from Haiti, “Hope for Haiti Now” will feature more than one hundred of the biggest names in film, television, and music supporting the cause with testimonials and by answering phones during the telethon.


"Hope for Haiti Now" will begin accepting donations at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT on Friday 1/22/10 via the following methods:
» Online: www.hopeforhaitinow.org
» Phone: 877-99-HAITI
» Text: Text "GIVE" to 50555
» Mail: Hope For Haiti Now Fund, Entertainment Industry Foundation, 1201 West 5th Street, Suite T-700, Los Angeles, CA 90017

Alicia Keys, Wyclef, Rihanna and more for "Hope for Haiti" telethon

The music world's top stars are signing on for Friday's "Hope for Haiti" telethon. Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Keith Urban and Alicia Keys are just a few of the performers who will be featured, according to MTV Networks, an integral partner in the two-hour event.

Wyclef Jean and Alicia Keys performing at Clive Davis pre-Grammy concert last year.
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Haiti was devastated and thousands of its citizens killed when an earthquake hit the Caribbean nation last week. "Hope For Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief" will be an international event.

Haitian native Wyclef Jean will anchor the show from New York, while George Clooney will do so from Los Angeles. CNN's Anderson Cooper will report from Haiti. London has also been added to the lineup, and that's where Jay-Z will perform, along with Bono, The Edge and Rihanna in a special joint performance. Coldplay is also to perform from London.

In New York, Springsteen will perform, along with Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, Jean and Sting.

In Los Angeles, Swift is to perform, and Urban, Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow plan a collaboration. Also performing in Los Angeles is Timberlake, Dave Matthews, John Legend, and Stevie Wonder.

People can purchase the night's performances for 99 cents each through iTunes starting Saturday. A statement released Tuesday says all proceeds will go to Haiti relief. The "Hope for Haiti" benefit will be broadcast from New York, Los Angeles, London and Haiti.

It will be televised on all the major networks at 8 p.m. EST, as well as MTV, VH1, CMT, BET, PBS, CNN, Bravo, and a host of other networks. In addition, the telethon will be streamed live on Web sites including YouTube, MySpace and AOL. The funds raised from the telethon will be donated to several relief organizations, including UNICEF, Oxfam America and Partners in Health.

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6.1 magnitude aftershock sends Haitians running in fear!

The most powerful aftershock yet struck Haiti on Wednesday, shaking more rubble from damaged buildings and sending screaming people running into the streets eight days after the country's capital was devastated by an apocalyptic quake.

The magnitude-6.1 temblor did not appear to cause major new damage in a city already nearly flattened by the Jan. 12 quake, but aid workers said it complicated rescue efforts and Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said the government was sending teams to check on the situation in Petit-Goave, near the epicenter.

"We know they are going to need some help," he said.

At least one woman died of a heart attack, according to Eddy Thomas, a private undertaker.

"She had a heart condition, and the new quake finished her," he said while pushing her body along the street on a mobile stretcher.

Wails of terror rose from frightened survivors as the earth shuddered at 6:03 a.m. U.S. soldiers and tent city refugees alike raced for open ground, and clouds of dust rose in the capital.

The quake began as a slow vibration and then intensified into side-to-side shaking that lasted about eight seconds in Haiti's capital. Some in Port-au-Prince said the far stronger Jan. 12 quake seemed to last for 30 seconds.

The U.S. Geological Survey said Wednesday's quake was centered about 35 miles (60 kilometers) west-southwest of Port-au-Prince and 6.2 miles (9.9 kilometers) below the surface — a little further from the capital than last week's epicenter was.

Read more HERE.

See Footage following aftershock in AP video below:

Wyclef defends Yele Haiti charity

37-year od Haitian-born rapper Wyclef Jean spoke out Saturday in defense of his foundation Yele Haiti after charity screening groups raised concerns about its accounting practices. According to audits of tax returns, the foundations has paid several of his businesses for services.

Having recently returned stateside from Haiti where he was on the ground helping in the relief efforts, Jean said he is "disgusted" by attacks "on my integrity and my foundation." He says he will be going to Haiti every three or four days. I think that Wyclef is being sincere and he makes sense. He basically mentions cost of production for show as comprising some of his expenses. In fact he has donated a million of his own money to Haiti.


The foundation, also known as Yele Haiti, intends to airlift medical supplies, water and Clif Bars to Haiti using a FedEx plane early next week, according to foundation president Hugh Locke.
If you still want to support Yele, you can text "Yele" to 501501 to make a $5 donation.

When the dust settles, Wyclef will have some explaining to do...

The information below was released by The Smoking Gun. Basically accusing Wyclef Jean of misappropriating funds used by Yele Haiti. By paying himself for services rendered to said organization.

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The Haiti earthquake has already triggered hundreds of thousands of donations to musician Wyclef Jean's charitable foundation, which expects to raise upwards of $1 million a day in the disaster's wake. However, Internal Revenue Service records show the group has a lackluster history of accounting for its finances, and that the organization has paid the performer and his business partner at least $410,000 for rent, production services, and Jean's appearance at a benefit concert. Though the Wyclef Jean Foundation, which does business as Yele Haiti Foundation, was incorporated 12 years ago--and has been active since that time--the group only first filed tax returns in August 2009. That month, the foundation provided the IRS with returns covering calendar years 2005, 2006, and 2007--the only periods for which it has publicly provided a glimpse at its financial affairs. In 2006, Jean's charity reported contributions of $1 million, the bulk of which came from People magazine in exchange for the first photos of a pregnant Angelina Jolie (the actress reportedly directed that the publication's payment go to Jean's charity, not her personally). As seen on the following pages from the foundation's 2006 tax return, the group paid $31,200 in rent to Platinum Sound, a Manhattan recording studio owned by Jean and Jerry Duplessis, who, like Jean, is a foundation board member. A $31,200 rent payment was also made in 2007 to Platinum Sound. The rent, tax returns assure, "is priced below market value." The recording studio also was paid $100,000 in 2006 for the "musical performance services of Wyclef Jean at a benefit concert." That six-figure payout, the tax return noted, "was substantially less than market value." The return, of course, does not address why Jean needed to be paid to perform at his own charity's fundraiser. But the largest 2006 payout--a whopping $250,000--went to Telemax, S.A., a for-profit Haiti company in which Jean and Duplessis were said to "own a controlling interest." The money covered "pre-purchased...TV airtime and production services" that were part of the foundation's "outreach efforts" in Haiti.

See more from the Smoking Gun HERE


I think that there is a thin line to be drawn when you run a charity and you supply services to that charity. If Wyclef has a studio and is recording ads or songs to promote the charity and "below market value" then is that really so bad??? But what is market value??? A person won't charge Rihanna the same price to record as someone trying to make a demo-it's two different 'markets' here.... Personally this is bad timing for this type of release. People have already started saying they regret giving to Yele Haiti, but come on... How many heads of Charities like Red Cross pay themselves six figures??? Do some research. This is not new. I think overall Wyclef is a good guy and no other Haitian entertainer put Haiti on the map like he has done. I think he will have to address this to assure people that the money is going where it needs to go,but that will have to wait till this current situation calms down. I am sure he is in no frame of mind to do that right now.

Wyclef says Haiti needs a million dollars a day!

I can hear the emotion in Clef's voice. He is asking for help for his people from the world...Please guys in the US text "yele" to 501501 to make a $5.00 contribution.

Wyclef Kicks off 2010 on a positive note

Wyclef is a man I love and respect cause he walks the walk when he talks the talk. Look at these pics of him playing Papa Noel in Haiti this past Christmas. Now of course after tweeting these pics some people post that he should not teach kids about Santa and be a revolutionary and what not. These are kids, and every kid likes to feel special at Christmas, I see nothing wrong with what he did. They will all grow up eventually and they will choose whether they want to celebrate Christmas or not but I am sure they will NOT forget his generosity!

And he continues with the help in 2010.Wyclef performing in Lagos Nigeria!

Though Wyclef was performing thousands of miles away in Nigera, Yele Haiti (founded by clef) started the new year by giving soup to the hungry. Trust me it look good eh. I LOVE pumpkin soup!



Look at the smiles! God bless you Wyclef, have an awesome 2010.

To follow Wyclef on Twitter click HERE

To help Yele Haiti click HERE