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The legendary Wyclef Jean will play his first London headline show in 15 years when he brings ‘Karnivalé: One Night Only!’ to KOKO on Sunday, August 24th.
Scheduled to coincide with London’s biggest party, the Notting Hill Carnival, the show will see The Fugees’ figurehead and global solo star perform a career-spanning set in an elegant and intimate venue, accompanied by a full live band. Tickets for the show are on general sale HERE now.
Wyclef Jean first came to attention with Fugees, whose second album ‘The Score’ became one of the biggest and most influential albums of the ‘90s. Their flair for infusing their hip-hop roots with pop accessibility and soulful flourishes led them to tremendous success, crowned by two Grammy Awards.
They were especially beloved by UK audiences, with two #1 smashes – ‘Killing Me Softly’ and ‘Ready Or Not’ – spending a total of seven weeks at the top of the charts in 1996. They both featured on ‘The Score’, which has been certified 5 x Platinum in recognition of more than 1.5 million UK sales, and the trio also earned the BRIT Award for International Group.
His solo career then delivered seven UK Top 10 singles, including the solo hits ‘Gone Til November’, ‘Perfect Gentleman’ and ‘It Doesn’t Matter’ plus major collabs such as ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ (with Shakira), ‘911’ (with Mary J. Blige) and ‘Dimelo’ (with Rak-Su).
Throughout, he has maintained intense productivity with a rich catalogue of albums, notably three volumes of ‘The Carnival’ series, his highest-charting UK record ‘The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book’, and the soundtrack for ‘Ghosts of Cité Soleil’, a documentary which explored gang conflict in Haiti’s capital city Port-au-Prince.
Wyclef Jean is the latest big name to play an intimate show at the historic KOKO since its visionary redesign was unveiled in 2022. Other stadium and arena headlining artists to have played the renowned venue in recent years include Burna Boy, Nas, Central Cee, Liam Gallagher, Pet Shop Boys and Take That.
