Wyclef Jean

by Editor

The singer chats to Staying Alive about the HIV and AIDS pandemic...

Every day 14000 young people around the world are infected with HIV. What would you say to young people who are still having unsafe sex?

 

Listen, everyone that is having unsafe sex, this is Wyclef, and I gotta tell you something, man - you’re killing yourself.

Some of you are probably saying, man, why you telling me this? It’s not going to happen to me... But trust me, I, right now, know a total of about 150 people that have HIV, 30 of them are real close friends of mine, and I’m watching them die, one by one. So when we’re telling you to protect yourself, it’s not a slogan. If you do not protect yourself, you will suffer the consequences. Don’t let nobody peer pressure you.

I know some of you cats out there, right, as I’m telling y’all this, you’re looking at this TV, but there’s a fine woman on your bed, and she’s probably half naked, she’s fine, with pretty long hair and pretty brown eyes and she’s like, ‘baby, baby, come to the bed, right now…ignore what Wyclef is saying’. BUT, what I’m telling you is DO NOT go to that bed without the condom, homie, get strapped up!

What would you say to some one who feels under pressure to lose their virginity?

 

Listen, all you kids out there that are getting pressured into have unsafe sex, this is Clef and I’m gonna be real with you. I, myself, I got pressured too when I was a youngster. I’m not going to sit here and lie to you… I’m gonna be honest with you… it is tempting, but the reality is, every time you have unsafe sex, you’re putting yourself in danger.

Two choices; you can either be a leader or a follower. Do yourself a favour, lead and protect yourself.

Some people argue that the media portrays women as sex objects, particularly in some music videos. What is your view on this?

 

No, no, no, I don’t feel that women are sex object at all. Let’s be realistic here, ever since the beginning of time, men have been in awe of women. And sometimes because they’re so in awe of women they just lose their mind! They don’t know what to say, they say all of these things…But let me speak on behalf of all men, I think that all women are beautiful, and we need to respect out women – because, hey man, we would not be here if it was not for women.

Big up to all my women out there, for you all are the sweetest girls.

What advice would you give to someone who doesn’t know how to ask their partner to take a HIV test?

I think people who don’t know how to ask their partner to get a test, you have to figure something out. Let’s move forward from now on, you gotta be honest with the whole thing – which means if the person says that they love you, you know what I’m saying, I think both of you should get tested. Don’t take no for an answer. Always get yourself checked. I gotta be honest with you, and always remember this, Clef told you this, there are people walking around with HIV who are infecting other people, and they know that they have the disease. So do yourself a favour, before you trust your partner, make sure that your partner gets tested.

What message would you like to give to all the young people out there who need encouragement and strength to carry on their daily battle?

Ok, all the kids around the world, I’ve got this foundation called Yeli Haiti, you know, I’m responsible for 20,000 kids in Haiti. Sometimes we say to ourselves, how can we empower our own communities… and I really think this starts with yourself, and you might be like, man, I’m just one person, what can I do. C’mon! Ghandi was one person, you know what I’m saying. Malcolm X was, Martin Luther King was... I could go on and on. I think the most important thing is, take that sense of leadership – look into your communities and see what can really help. The more you do that, the less violence there will always be in the community.

What song would you dedicate to people who need hope and encouragement to fight HIV and AIDS?

 

I would say, Bruce Springsteen – Streets of Philadelphia, that’s definitely a song. You know, I told you, I know a lot of people infected with HIV – It’s not like you can’t live with it.

One thing I want to add – make sure that you get your medicine. I even challenge the companies that are overcharging for these medicines. They need to be at a reasonable price. If you know you have HIV, do yourself a favour, take your meds.