Masquerade (Wyclef Jean album)

Masquerade
Studio album by Wyclef Jean
Released	June 18, 2002
Recorded	2001–2002
Genre	Hip-hop
Length	68:55
Label	Columbia
Producer	Wyclef Jean, Farel Jean, Shea Taylor, Jessica Harley and Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis
Wyclef Jean chronology
The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book (2000) Masquerade (2002) Greatest Hits (2003)
Singles from Masquerade
"Two Wrongs" Released: May 13, 2002 "Pussycat" Released: November 18, 2002 "Masquerade" Released: May 4, 2003 "Message to the Streets" Released: July 25, 2003

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
RapReviews	7.5/10[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]

Masquerade is the third studio album released by Haitian hip hop musician Wyclef Jean. The album was released on June 18, 2002. The album debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200 chart, making it Jean's highest-charting album. The title song "Masquerade" featuring M.O.P. was later removed from all streaming platforms and is no longer available.

Singles

The album features the singles "Two Wrongs", "Pussycat" and "Knockin' On Heaven's Door". Tom Jones makes a guest appearance on the album, singing his rendition of "Pussycat".

Commercial performance

Masquerade debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 82,000 copies in its first week of release.^[5] This became Jean’s second US top-ten album on the chart.^[6] The album also debuted at number two on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. As of May 2003, the album has sold 357,000 copies in the United States.^[7]

Track listing

Masquerade – Standard edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Message to the Streets (Intro)" (performed by Eric Edwards, Felipe Luciano, and Raymond Duplessis)	Wyclef Jean Jerry Duplessis		0:58
2.	"Peace God" (featuring Prolific)	W. Jean Duplessis Benjamin Lattimore Toshio Nomura Itsuro Hattori	Wyclef Jean Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis Clep Sound	3:51
3.	"PJ's" (featuring Governor and Prolific)	W. Jean Duplessis Shea Taylor	Wyclef Jean Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis Shea Taylor	3:59
4.	"80 Bars"	W. Jean Duplessis	Wyclef Jean Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis	4:30
5.	"Masquerade" (featuring M.O.P., Bumpy Knuckles, and Miri)	Farel Jean W. Jean Duplessis Jamal Grinnage Eric Murray James F. Campbell Jerry Lordan	Sedeck Wyclef Jean Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis	3:59
6.	"1-800-Henchman (Interlude)" (performed by Jimmy Henchman)			0:11
7.	"You Say Keep It Gangsta" (featuring Butch Cassidy and Sharissa)	W. Jean Duplessis Neftali Santiago	Wyclef Jean Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis	3:58
8.	"Party Like I Party"	W. Jean Duplessis Teflon Darryl Radcliff	Teflon Wyclef Jean Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis	3:46
9.	"Oh What a Night"	W. Jean Duplessis	Wyclef Jean Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis	4:01
10.	"Hot 93.1 (Interlude)" (performed by Eric Edwards)			0:04
11.	"Pussycat" (featuring Tom Jones)	W. Jean Duplessis Taylor Burt Bacharach Hal David	Wyclef Jean Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis Shea Taylor	3:48
12.	"Midnight Lovers (Interlude)" (performed by Eric Edwards)			0:07
13.	"Two Wrongs" (featuring Claudette Ortiz)	W. Jean Duplessis	Wyclef Jean Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis Cory Rooney (add.)	3:49
14.	"Instant Request (Interlude)" (performed by Big E)			0:19
15.	"Thug Like Me"	W. Jean Duplessis	Wyclef Jean Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis	4:44
16.	"Daddy"	W. Jean Duplessis Jennifer Hamady	Wyclef Jean Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis	3:30
17.	"Knockin' on Heaven's Door"	W. Jean (add.) Bob Dylan	Wyclef Jean Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis	4:01
18.	"The Eulogy (Interlude)" (performed by Felipe Luciano)	W. Jean Duplessis		0:40
19.	"War No More"	W. Jean Duplessis	Wyclef Jean Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis	3:59
20.	"The Mix Show" (featuring Prolific, FAMS, G.O.D., and D.G.)	W. Jean Duplessis Errol Sistrunk Hakim Bey Scott Damon Leigh Eugene Alfonso	Ed Roc Wyclef Jean Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis	4:06

Masquerade – Bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
21.	"MVP Kompa" (featuring Melky)	W. Jean Duplessis	Wyclef Jean Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis	5:09
22.	"Ghetto Racine (PJ's Creole Mix)" (featuring Ja Rah Rah)	W. Jean Duplessis	Wyclef Jean Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis	5:26

Masquerade – Japan bonus track

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
23.	"Africa"	Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis	6:46

Sample credits

• "Peace God" contains elements from:
  • "Let's Straighten It Out", written by Benjamin Lattimore, and performed by Latimore.
  • "Chuji Komari-Uta", written by Toshio Nomura and Itsuro Hattori, and performed by Yatsuo Koyama and Tokyo Mandalin.
• "Masquerade" contains replayed elements from "Apache", written by Jerry Lordan.
• "You Say Keep It Gangsta" contains elements from "Two Sisters of Mystery", written by Neftali Santiago, and performed by Mandrill.
• "Oh What a Night" contains replayed elements from:
  • "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)", written by Bob Gaudio and Judy Parker.
  • "Leaving on a Jet Plane", written by John Denver.
• "Pussycat" contains elements from "What's New Pussycat?", written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and performed by Tom Jones.
• "The Mix Show" contains elements from:
  • "Pass the Dutchie", written by Jackie Mittoo, Headley Bennett, Lloyd Ferguson, Leroy Sibbles, Robert Lyn, Huford Brown, and Fitzroy Simpson; performed by Musical Youth.
  • "Material Man", written by Gregory Isaacs and Sylvester Weise, performed by Gregory Isaacs.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2002) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] 47 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[9] 14 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[10] 99 French Albums (SNEP)[11] 76 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] 20 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[13] 20 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[14] 7 Scottish Albums (OCC)[15] 54 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 8 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 13 UK Albums (OCC)[18] 30 US Billboard 200[19] 6 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[20] 2

Year-end charts Chart (2002) Position Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[21] 90 Canadian Rap Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[22] 48 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[23] 62

References

1. link
2. link
3. "RS 899/900". Archived from the original on July 26, 2008. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
4. Brackett, N.; Hoard, C.D. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. p. 425. ISBN 9780743201698. Retrieved 2014-12-03.
5. Chris Harris (December 12, 2007). "Josh Groban Rules Billboard Chart For Third Straight Week: Blake Lewis Barely Cracks Top 10". MTV. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
6. Chris Harris (December 12, 2007). "Josh Groban Rules Billboard Chart For Third Straight Week: Blake Lewis Barely Cracks Top 10". MTV. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
7. "Wyclef Wings It To J Records". Billboard. May 18, 2003. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
8. "Australiancharts.com – Wyclef Jean – Masquerade". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
9. "Austriancharts.at – Wyclef Jean – Masquerade" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
10. "Dutchcharts.nl – Wyclef Jean – Masquerade" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
11. "Lescharts.com – Wyclef Jean – Masquerade". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Wyclef Jean – Masquerade" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
13. "Charts.nz – Wyclef Jean – Masquerade". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
14. "Norwegiancharts.com – Wyclef Jean – Masquerade". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
15. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
16. "Swedishcharts.com – Wyclef Jean – Masquerade". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
17. "Swisscharts.com – Wyclef Jean – Masquerade". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
18. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
19. "Wyclef Jean Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
20. "Wyclef Jean Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
21. "Canada's Top 200 R&B; albums of 2002". Jam!. Archived from the original on October 12, 2003. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
22. "Top 100 rap albums of 2002 in Canada". Jam!. Archived from the original on October 12, 2003. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
23. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2002". Billboard. Retrieved August 31, 2020.