The “Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant,” will hit stores Dec. 4 via Columbia featuring a host of high-profile guests appear, including Paul Simon, Norah Jones, will.i.am, Mary J. Blige, T.I. and System Of A Down’s Serj Tankian.

Defsounds : You’ve been involved in politics and humanitarian efforts for some time now, specifically back home in Haiti. Will you be using this album as a platform to express your views or will it be more light-hearted?

Wyclef: Yeah, it’ll be light-hearted but it will still have the views in it. Like “Sweetest Girl”, the first single with me, Akon and Weezy. You can feel the vibes in the song and it feels light, yet at the same time the views are definitely right.

Defsounds : Given the chance, would you ever run for president?

Wyclef: (sings) ‘If I were president, I’d get elected on Friday, assassinated on Saturday…..’ For me, presidency, is ummm…..I CAN be the president. That’s easy. But what are you going to do when you become the president ? I mean, the president of my country. I can help them more doing what I do now…talking about social issues, helping them raise money….I feel like that where my swagger’s at.

Defsounds : Obama or Hillary?

Wyclef: Obama.

Defsounds : Do you think George Bush likes black people?

Wyclef: No

Defsounds :On this album, you link up with many notable hip-hop names, such as, TI, Akon, Chamillionaire, and Lil’ Wayne but you also worked with Paul Simon and Norah Jones. How did those collabos come about?

Wyclef: With Norah Jones, basically we had originally done a record for Katrina and we decided to use the same song for this album. With Paul Simon , I just gave him a call and wanted to tell him, “Let’s do a record on some musicianship vibes.” , and that record came out incredible.

Defsounds :Speaking of collabos, both you and Pras stated that Lauryn is the hold up of a Fugees reunion. Why no collabos with Pras?

Wyclef: I love Pras 100% and I think at the right time I will definitely do another “Ghetto Superstar” with him.

Defsounds : Is there any bad blood between the 3 of you or is just a lack of synergy?

Wyclef: Lack of synergy. I feel synergy was how the second CD was created and I feel that the energy has to be similar for us to give good music.

Defsounds : So do you think you guys have grown apart?

Wyclef: I don’t think we’ve grown apart at all. I just think Lauryn’s confused and she needs to get her head back.

Defsounds : You’re featured on TI’s album and he’s featured on yours as well. How did you 2 link up?

Wyclef: Man, we were just building at the Red Carpet about doing some music together. Non-political, just music and when I went up to Atlanta, we ended up doing 7 records. Good vibe, good synergy and we worked good together.

Defsounds : What do you think of the whole “The South is Killing Hip-Hop” mentality? Do you think hip-hop is in trouble ?

Wyclef: Nah, I don’t think hip-hop is in trouble. I mean, Soulja Boy, ehhhhh,….Superman, ehhhh but I don’t think it’s in trouble. I think that that’s just the expression of the new generation.

Defsounds : You’ve been known to mix up your sounds and experiment a lot. What kind of sound can we expect from The Carnival 2.

Wyclef: You can expect a fusion of things. From young to old. Stuff that the kids can get into, but at the same time, adults can feel good about listening to the music too.

Defsounds : You’re a critically acclaimed artist, one who has won numerous awards. What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment to date?

Wyclef: Putting my country Haiti on the map.

Defsounds : We’ve seen you show up on a couple of TV shows, mostly as yourself. Have you ever considered doing the “Hollywood” thing, as in acting?

Wyclef: I did an underground movie called “Shottas”, but for me, the acting thing takes months outta my life and it’s hard to leave the studio.

Defsounds : What do you think of Amy Winehouse? Would you ever consider her replacing Lauryn for a Fugees cover or track?

Wyclef: I love Amy Winehouse. I want to do some work with her. I’ll put that out there. She’s dope, but there is no replacement for Lauryn. Period.

Defsounds : Considering Lauryn’s strong feelings towards other races, do you feel she is being racist or just pro-black?

Wyclef: I feel that she is just pro-black.

Defsounds : Back to the album, what is the next single?

Wyclef: I’m pushing for the me and TI record, which is a song called “Slow Down”. It’s a song talking about everything in the world. From the Katrina issue to shootings in schools, to all types of shit. The Iraq War. And all we sayin is , slow down man. We’re moving too fast.

Defsounds : When can we expect this the album?

Wyclef: December the 4th. The Carnival 2. And don’t forget , I’m giving away a $500,000 car too. It’ll be from the cd, whoever gets that raffle ticket. If you want to see what the car looks like, look at the car in the video with me and TI. That’s the car I’m giving away.

Defsounds : Thank you for taking this time out to chat with Defsounds.

By Liz Rosario For Defsounds.com