Yes and Other Answers

Wyclef Jean’s “Mona Lisa” (from The Carnival) as an example of Reconstructivist Art

Hip-hop impresario Wyclef Jean reinvented one of his earlier hits as this sentimental ballad from his multiplatinum album “Wyclef Presents the Carnival.”

1. Nod to Artifice: Wyclef comments (hip-hop style) over the lyrics with self-referential comments such as “I never wrote a love song before.”
2. Classic Structure: Despite its inclusion on a hip-hop album, this standard-form love-ballad is lush with classic melody, harmony and instrumentation, as rendered by the Neville Brothers.
3. Transcontextual and Iconic Elements: The raw materials for this song all come from “Nappy Heads Remix”, the first (minor) hit created by Wyclef’s former band, the Fugees. The sampled horns of the earlier song form the basis for the later song’s instrumental accompaniment, and the catchy hook of the earlier song (itself a reference to Nat King Cole’s hit “Mona Lisa”, which in turn references DaVinci’s famous painting) is the presumptive inspiration for the song’s lyric.
4. Moments of Genuine Emotion or Significance: The song is filled with the bittersweet emotions of a troubled relationship, and possesses a level of depth missing in most “love” songs of the same era.