Once one-third of the Fugees, Wyclef is now a solo artist, music producer, party fixture, and globe-trotting do-gooder.

Wyclef Jean immigrated to Brooklyn from Haiti when he was nine and got his start in music playing in the band at the Nazarene church where his dad was a preacher. In 1987, he formed the Fugees with high school pal Lauryn Hill and his cousin Pras, but the group plugged along in obscurity until 1996's The Score. With a style that was more in the mold of "conscious" hip-hop acts like Arrested Development—as opposed to the thuggy stance most rappers were taking at the time—the group became a hit with audiences and The Score went on to sell more than 18 million copies. Drunk on their success, the Fugees dissolved a year later so that each could pursue solo projects (especially Hill, who'd been circled by shark-like record label execs for years). Jean was the first to release a solo effort—his Caribbean-influenced 1997 album The Carnival went triple-platinum. Since then, he's released several solo records. None, though, has eclipsed the success of his debut solo release, and lately Jean has stepped behind the scenes somewhat, producing and collaborating with other musicians, including Mick Jagger, Shakira, Carlos Santana, and, oddly, Kenny Rogers.

Jean has since focused on philanthropic pursuits, founding the non-profit Yele Haiti organization in 2005, and in early 2007, Haiti's president named Jean the "roving ambassador" for the country. Looking to make his title more official after the devastating earthquake in 2010, Jean announced his candidacy for President, but ultimately could not run because he had not met the requirement of Haitian residency for five years before the election. [Image via Getty]