The Myth of Diaspora Exceptionalism: Wyclef Jean Performs "Jaspora"

The Myth of Diaspora Exceptionalism: Wyclef Jean Performs "Jaspora"

This essay analyzes elements of the music, nonprofit work, political aspirations, and autobiography of hip-hop star Wyclef Jean in light of performance theory and discourses of Haitian exceptionalism. I argue that Wyclef stages a version of diasporic identity that is propelled by two central tropes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American quarterly 2014-09, Vol.66 (3), p.835-852
Main Author: Jean-Charles, Régine Michelle
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
African diaspora
Archipelagic Thought
Autobiographies
Carnivals
Criticism and interpretation
Cultural identity
Diaspora
Diasporas
Earthquakes
Emigration and immigration
Ethnic identity
exceptionalism
folk literature
folk poetry
folk song
Grammy awards
Haiti
Haitian Americans
Haitians
Hip hop music
identity
Jean, Wyclef
Latin American culture
Musical performance
Narratives
National characteristics, Haitian
Nonprofit organizations
rap song
Refugees
Self concept
Song lyrics
Symbolism
United States
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Summary:This essay analyzes elements of the music, nonprofit work, political aspirations, and autobiography of hip-hop star Wyclef Jean in light of performance theory and discourses of Haitian exceptionalism. I argue that Wyclef stages a version of diasporic identity that is propelled by two central tropes of exceptionalism—romance and tragedy. Building on Michel-Rolph Trouillot’s concept of Haitian exceptionalism as a fiction, I use performance theory methodologies to show that Wyclef’s articulation of jaspora (the Kreyòl term for diaspora) operates according to a rigid logic of idealization and degradation. By focusing on the different ways that Wyclef performs and authenticates Haitian identity, my goal is to describe and critique another manifestation of the trope of Haitian exceptionalism that focuses on the troubling terrain of diasporic identity politics.
ISSN:0003-0678
1080-6490
1080-6490