MTV: First off, tell us about the making of the album.

Wyclef Jean: I've been recording songs for the past two years. I've got over 70 songs recorded, and I just picked the best 14 that's gonna blaze this generation. I look at the time, and then I drop music for the time. Right now, I'm getting a little bored again.

It's time for "The Ecleftic." Things are sounding the same right now; everything is looking the same. So "The Ecleftic" is gonna [be] that breath of fresh air that is about to hit y'all again.

MTV: What's the one thing about the new record that's going to surprise fans of your first album, "The Carnival"?

Wyclef: Yo! Basically what's gonna surprise my fans on this album is that this is a step above the last album. You can see the maturity and the growth of Wyclef, and it's just the next level. All I keep doing is bringing it up to new levels and levels.

I mean, y'all have seen me out there working with Whitney [Houston] and Carlos Santana, doing mad collaborations. Giving everybody number one joints, you feel me? So I've got to take time on my stuff and make sure it's extra hot.

MTV: No fears of a sophomore slump?

Wyclef: I only fear one thing: it's God. Besides that, I'm nice on the court, like Michael Jordan is. In my field, I'm nice. I ain't being conceited, but my mama told me I'm pretty. What do you want me to say?

MTV: How'd you come up with the title, "The Ecleftic?"

Wyclef: "Ecleftic" comes from the word "eclectic," and eclectic [in the sense] of a genre of different music. So I'm ecleftic, 'cause I listen to every kind of music. But the general base of everything is hip-hop, and I combine hip-hop with every form of music.

For a while, it took the public a minute to grasp my whole style. You might see me [in the studio], then you see me at a grimy spot, and then you see me in a country tribute with Johnny Cash, busting a freestyle.

It don't really matter, man, 'Clef just fits into all formats. I am just a prodigy of the 'hood, and [I'm happy] as long as I can maintain that and the music that I do.

Like, y'all ain't expecting Wyclef to know nothing about Pink Floyd, but when I hit you with the Pink Floyd, your eyes open up and you accept it more in the world where I'm coming from. You feeling me?

MTV: Well, it's funny that you mention that, because I think one of the greatest things about your music is its abroad appeal. In addition to Whitney and The Rock, who appears in the "It Doesn't Matter" single, you also teamed up with country singer Kenny Rogers. How'd that happen?

Wyclef: My mom, she used to listen to a lot of country music when we were young. So I called up Kenny and said, "Yo, Kenny, I need you to do me a favor." Luckily, Kenny Rogers knew who I was, and I said, "I need you to sing 'The Gambler,' right? But I need you to flip the lyrics, and I want you to put the word 'turntables' in there."

He was like, "Listen, Wyclef, I don't know what you want to do with this, but I trust you. I'm gonna record it and send it you." He sent it to me, and I dropped this foul march beat behind "The Gambler." A lot of people don't know [the lyrics to] "The Gambler" -- "You got to know when to hold them..." It's a straight-up poker song, a gamblers' song for all of the brothers.

MTV: The album also features "911," a song you cut with Mary J. Blige. Did she contact you about doing something for the record, or did you contact her?

Wyclef: I just called Mary J. Blige up, because she's the original ghetto diva. I called her up and said, "I got a joint called '911,'" and she was just Mary, you know what I mean? I've got nothing but love for her, man. She's one of those singers that when she sings, you can just feel it going through your spine.

I kept saying, "I got a joint for us." She came in and sung the song, [laid down] some raw vocals. She was in the studio on her birthday, and she came and checked up on me. We were vibing "911," just vibing. Later, we went in and recorded it. It was something that wasn't even thought of. It's just one of those things that God put together.