Wyclef Jean: Grammy winner says 'to each his own' of anthem protests, before starting NASCAR race
DOVER, Del. – Fans have expressed a disdain for having their entertainment politicized in the wake of national anthem protests in recent weeks, and modern music also largely lacks the social impact that marked the 1960s, '70s and '80s.
Enter three-time Grammy-winner Wyclef Jean, grand marshal of the Apache Warrior 400 on Sunday at Dover International Speedway.
The former member of the Fugees had no political agenda to express as he performed his ceremonial duties including cuing the drivers to engage engines, but he expressed support for those who do. He said weaving social comment into his work is natural for him.
“It’s like drinking water,” he told Paste BN Sports. “The only thing that’s going to be relevant past us is ‘What did we stand for?’ I am a fan of Bob Dylan, not just a fan, like Bob Dylan was in my video, ‘Gone ‘til November.’ So I look up to people like Dylan.
"I look up to Bono. I remember having this conversation with Bono. What year did Bono come to the house? 2000-something. But Bono was in the backyard.
"I’m a big fan of U2. He was one of my mentors. And just the idea of how U2 was able to do it. Sometimes [people] be like, ‘Well, more artists need to do that.’
“I just feel ‘to each his own’. Like everyone knows what they’re comfortable with. But we have a law though: you have to keep it sexy, first. The woman have to want to sing it. And the fellas gotta want to dance with the women and then you can slip a little policy in there.”
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Added Jean, a native Haitian who immigrated to the New York area as a child, on kneeling during the national anthem:
“Once again, to each his own. But at the same time, everyone I know has Jimi Hendrix in their catalogue, the best way I can explain it, with him and Vietnam. We worship Muhammad Ali today. We all look up to him. We look up to Nelson Mandela. We look up to [President John F.] Kennedy. We do. They were attacked for a certain side, but then later, even some cynics, said, ‘Look man, I probably was wrong on this one.’
“So for me, I always feel like everyone has the right to do what they do peacefully. And I speak as someone who had the chance to sit with Nelson Mandela, face-to-face like I am with you, one-on-one, I came to the realization, that whatever happens man, at the end (of) the day, love always conquers hate.”
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