Wyclef Jean brings Cayman to the world stage

Grammy award-winning US-Haitian singer, musician and rapper Wyclef Jean, who is performing this week in the UK as part of Janet Jackson’s global ‘Together Again’ tour, is highlighting Cayman and the Caribbean diaspora through the visuals accompanying his show.

And the man behind the images appearing on the LED screens on stage featuring scenes celebrating Cayman’s people and culture, along with the Caribbean’s rich history and music, is Jean’s creative director, Caymanian video engineer Wayneroy Randal.

Over the course of his nearly 40-minute set, Wyclef runs through some of his groundbreaking hits as screens behind him depict the eye-catching visuals created by Randal.

Those images, together with Jean’s unique and edgy vocals and socially conscious rap lyrics, high energy, and eclectic line-up, offer a vibrant opening for Jackson’s headline performance.

Randal, who has been working with the famed rapper since his show at the Capella Music Festival in Grand Cayman in 2022, explained some of his creative process for the latest collaboration.

“For his visuals some of the content had to be recut because of copyrights,” he told the Cayman Compass. “The original videos cannot be used … for example, [the song] ‘Maria Maria’ was recut in the Cayman Islands and Miami and features Cayman’s very own Josani Schneider as Maria.”

He explained he “wanted this particular visual to highlight as much of Josani as a Cayman beauty. It was not produced to be a music video, so cutting it was a little challenging to get a real feel of Caymanian culture, but it came out very nicely in the end.”

Randal noted other Caymanians are featured in those visuals, as well as during the performance of ‘No Woman, No Cry’.

“The visuals start in Brooklyn, NY and slowly [make their] way to Jamaica. I flew to Jamaica a month before the tour kicked off just to shoot footage for the visuals. Of course, there is a piece of footage of Bob Marley … I couldn’t leave that out. Haiti is also represented in the video with kids running and playing.”

During the song, Caymanians along with other nationalities are highlighted, he added.

His work was praised by Jean, who told the Compass, “Wayneroy has been an amazing genius at highlighting Caribbean culture on an international stage.”

Noting how “crucial” visuals are, Jean said, “they set the mood and bring the imagination to life”.

Life on tour

The tour has been going “extremely well,” Randal noted, adding, “Live Nation Entertainment, [which operates entertainment venues and manages the careers of music artists], is very hospitable, and production has been great at providing what is needed for the shows.”

He added, “Janet’s performance is amazing with numerous wardrobe changes, dancers, set changes in the middle of the show … it’s just amazing to watch how it all comes together … The only people in Janet’s camp that I have direct contact with is her band. Some of us have known each other for years and were so happy to see each other on tour in Europe. We have all come a very long way so to see where we are now is amazing.”

For Jean, being a part of the European/UK leg, which began on 25 Sept. in Paris, “is a dream”.

“To go from growing up listening to the music of the Jacksons, to getting the chance to be on tour with Janet Jackson, it has been amazing. She is so kind and a great human,” Jean said.

Jackson has been performing the biggest hits of her five-decade-long career in arenas across Europe, including Paris, Antwerp and Munich, with her final concert slated for Amsterdam on 10 Oct.

Over the summer, she kicked off the second of her two North American legs of her tour, making stops in Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, and Washington, D.C. She has been touring since April last year.

When asked what he has enjoyed most on the tour, Jean said, “I enjoy being able to perform for my UK and European fans. They always remind me that I will forever be a rockstar. LOL.”