Wyclef Jean on how art, celebrity and politics all blend together

For Wyclef Jean, he was given the gift of art for a reason — and part of it is to provide a public service to others.

The musician and ex-politician (he ran for president of Haiti in 2010) finds his passions lying somewhere in the intersection between music and politics and he looks to people like U2's Bono for inspiration. "Watching him, I would say he's a perfect role model on how you balance your rock 'n' roll life with charity," he explains.

This year, Jean remade his 2004 song, "If I Was President," changing his lyrics to reflect the U.S. presidential election. 

When asked what tensions helped shape this version of the song, Jean reveals: "One of the things was the tension between community and police. Actions, attitudes — it just seemed like no matter how crazy the crime that the police did, it was like the policies and the legislations are basically organized in the courts to just tape them on the hands."

Of course, he's not the only one tackling these issues of police brutality and race in America. An old collaborator of his, Beyoncé, has also been at the forefront of this political wave of musical statements being made. 

"I love Lemonade," Jean says, of Beyoncé's album, which was released earlier this year. "As Beyoncé takes her role to do what she does, and I take my role to do what I do, I would like to see more youth inspired by that and actually take their role to have that voice." 

WEB EXTRA | Listen to Wyclef Jean's 2016 version of "If I Was President" below.