Hendrix

Album: J'ouvert (2016)
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Songfacts®:

  • In this song, Wyclef looks back at his childhood and reflects on a time when he and his friends had to choose a road to follow in life. Many of his friends joined gangs or turned to crime, but he pursued music. The song is titled "Hendrix" after the lyrics where he explains how he was listening to the rocker while his cousin was getting a Tec-9 gun:

    When my cousin got his first Tec
    I was playing Jimi Hendrix in the basement
  • Wyclef grew up in Newark, New Jersey, which was a rough area but close to the action, as it was near New York City. "This speaks to the neighborhood I grew up in and how it didn't look like much," he said of the song. "The devil, or the streets, offered drugs and cartel and I chose music. Some homies chose the NBA, or we would see people like Shaq who are from Newark and see how they made it out the danger zone."
  • Avicii made some contributions to the album, and coined the term "Clefication," which appears in the title. It refers to Wyclef's production touch and what he brings to a song. "It's the human application of music," Jean explains.

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