Atlantic City Weekly

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If you have managed to somehow miss Shakira and Wyclef Jean's collaborative mega-hit "Hips Don't Lie," or its frenetic music video then you must be living under a rock with earplugs and a blindfold, and that's no way to live.

The tune, which makes much of Colombian pop icon Shakira's undeniably alluring hip-shaking dance moves, keeps to her signature style of rock-tinged, Latin-influenced jams, thanks in no small part to Wyclef's masterful production. It has topped Billboard charts around the world, set records for downloads, and the video has garnered no less than seven nominations for MTV's 2006 VMAs. In June the Nielsen organization reported that "Hips Don't Lie" was the most played song in the history of radio.

Not bad for a song that almost never made it. It was released close to a year ago as part of the soundtrack album to the I-can't-believe-they-made-it movie Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, and few people heard it then. It got another push when it was released as the first single on Shakira's latest album Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 (Epic), and the rest continues to make history.

Shakira and Wyclef hope to make a bit more history with their current mega-tour (started a month ago, it promises to extend well into 2007) with stops across the globe, including at our very own Trump Taj Mahal this weekend.

"It will be balanced," Shakira told the Associated Press. "The Anglo public will enjoy it as much as the Latin fans that have followed me over the years."

The tour and the smash hit find both artists turning a career corner. Shakira came closest to the top of the charts in 2001 with "Wherever, Whenever," which went to no. 6, while Wyclef's biggest hit, "Gone Till November" came through at no. 7 way back in 1998. Both artists are big, but both are poised to be absolutely huge. It's the difference between a serious presence and ubiquity.

Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 is only Shakira's second English-language offering (complimenting a Spanish language album from mid-2005, Fijacion Oral 1), and she has made quick work with crossing over, sweeping over the US and international charts to add to her already formidable stardom in Latin America. Wyclef too has made a jump to international acclaim with a twin assault: producing dozens of artists worldwide and incorporating a truly global approach to his own music.

"I don't know how the heck I was able to put together an album in English and write my own songs in English when my command of the language back then was very limited," Shakira told Rolling Stone regarding 2001's Laundry Service. "But today I feel like I'm pretty bilingual, I notice myself sometimes writing in English without even thinking about it. I let a melody or a sentence suggest in which language I would have to write that song."

Both artists prove that globalization isn't just for telemarketing. Shakira switches up setlists depending on her audience, allowing her to range across Spanish selections in Latin America, English selections in North America, and a mix of both elsewhere. Wyclef too has a cross-cultural availability. His last album, 2004's Sak Pase Presents: Welcome to Haiti (Creole 101), is sung mostly in the Creole of his native Haiti. In addition, his production and collaboration credits act as a kind of musical visa, with stamps from Singapore, Turkey, China and across the Americas and the Caribbean. He has worked with such diverse talents as Celia Cruz, Neville Brothers, Santana, Whitney Houston, Sublime, Sinead O'Connor, and even Turkish superstar Tarkan.

For both artists, living in the global village is about much more than selling records. Both are devoted to social causes. For Shakira, it is her Pies Descalzos Foundation charity, named for her first album and set up to help Colombia's poorest children fight against violence, hunger and homelessness. In its 11 year existence it has raised over $4 million, the money being used to feed, clothe and educate over 4,000 children. In April, the United Nations had a special ceremony to recognize the organization's good works. "When I see healthy kids instead of hungry faces and empty tummies, I realize I've made a difference and that I have to keep doing more every day," Shakira told the Associated Press.

Wyclef Jean

Completing the circuit, both artists are outspoken in their music too. Shakira has a song on her latest titled "Timor," where she addresses the little recognized but very troubled nation in South Asia. Wyclef's duet with Mary J, Blige, "911," was poetic and passionately outspoken, while his "Diallo" met the ongoing troubles of racism and violence head-on. Both artists manage to infuse cultural awareness without losing a personal perspective and without losing their sense of great songcraft.

For each artist, the road to being citizens and entertainers of the world began early.

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born in 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia to a Colombian mother of Italian and Spanish descent and a Lebanese-American father. She started making music at age 8, studied belly dancing to combat her natural shyness, and was selling millions of albums by her mid-teens.

Nelust Wyclef Jean was born in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti in 1972. He and his family moved to Brooklyn, New York when he was just 9, and later to suburban New Jersey. His first language was Haitian Creole, but after coming to the states he learned not only English but Spanish and even a bit of Japanese. He took cues from his own heritage while soaking up the polyglot ethnicities and cultures of America. When he met up with Prakazrel Michel (Pras) and Lauryn Hill to form the Tranzlator Crew, later to become the Fugees, Wyclef took the opportunity to mix hip-hop with Caribbean rhythms, outspoken political consciousness and of course Lauryn Hill's phenomenal voice. They went to sell over 17 million copies worldwide, largely on the success of their cover of "Killing Me Softly."

Wyclef has been working on his latest album for some time, an effort he likens to Quincy Jones' Back on the Block. The self-comparison is no accident. Wyclef admires Jones' huge influence on music through the '70s and '80s, and his miraculous ability to stay vital with his solo efforts. The album is taking a long time, but should be a treat with such guests as Santana, Mary J. Blige, Shakira and many more. With five solid solo albums since his relatively brief tenure with the Fugees, a reunion is not at the top of Wyclef's mind. Yet fans continue to call for it, and they got a taste last year when the group re-formed to perform for Dave Chapelle's Block Party, released on DVD this year. While Wyclef's newer tunes have yet to see any release, one can always rely on his cinematic streak. He has scored and put together soundtracks not only for Havana Nights but also for Hotel Rwanda, The Agronomist, and Ghosts of Cite Soleil. His albums rely heavily on a kind of cinematic narrative, and he's always got new stories to share.

Regarding her collaboration with and tour alongside Wyclef, Shakira told AP, "I admire him so much! He's a great artist and will be a big asset for the show." Guaranteed to get together on stage for their gigantic hit, both artists promise also to put on a truly global show, drawing influence from all over the world and infusing their own distinctive backgrounds into every song, dance move and lyric.

Shakira and Wyclef Jean appear at the Trump Taj Mahal on Friday, Sept. 1 at 9pm and Saturday, Sept. 2 at 7:30pm; $65-$125. Tickets available through Ticketmaster at 1-800-736-1420, www.ticketmaster.com, or at the Taj Box Office.