>> good evening from los angeles. i'm a.t.f. is smiley. -- i'm tavis smiley. first up a conversation with wyclef jean. he's just returned from hate and is continuing to raise money for quake victims through his foundation, yele hate. yesterday in los angeles he joined quincy jones and an all-star gathering to rerecord the aids classic "we are the world." also a visit from a rising star in the r & b music category, trey songz. his album was nominated at wards. this year's grammy awards. wyclef jean coming up right now and trey songz. >> wal-mart helps people live

better. mostly we're looking forward to building strong communities and relationships. because with your help the best is yet to come. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports a.t.f. is smiley. -- tavis smiley. working to improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. >> nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> wyclef jean has returned from his hometown in hate following up on relief efforts there. he continues to raise money through his charitable organization he found back in 2005.

yesterday here in los angeles he joined quincy jones and an all-star lineup to record "we are the world 25" proceeds from the song will go toward continuing relief efforts. wyclef it's always good to see you, man. >> good to see you, sir. >> are you holding on? >> we've holding on. >> i've been waiting to ask you at the grammy awards the other night, you spoke in english, spoke to the people in haiti in decree old. what did you say? >> the funny thing was there was something written for me on the teleprompter. so i prewarned them i don't think i'm going to say what's on the teleprompter. but basically in decree old i was telling the -- in creole i was telling the people to hold on and be strong. whatever we go through is going to be ok. we figured we're at the grammies and we don't know when we're going to get that chance again. so it was important to teach my musician audience a little bit of 01. >> -- creole 01.

>> with all the other fundraisers that have taken place you have to be pleased with the way your community, the artistic community has responded to this. yes? >> it's incredible for me coming from haiti and being raised. i've been in the music game since i was 14, 15 years old. and the outportion of musicians and what they want to do for haiti is incredible. from lionel richie calling, quincy is like i got your back. we're going to make this big. every artist in the book calling, what can we do. it's incredible. >> yes. you've been down there a couple times now since the quake. i mean we see the news every day. but give me your sense of the situation, whether or not -- we know it's going to be a slow process. your read on the progress there. >> my read on the progress there -- and that's why i went right after the quake and made sure that i brought a flip cam -- so i'm going to be bringing a film through the eyes of the flip cam. what i don't want people to do

is i don't want people to think that things are actually getting better when they're actually not, you know? things -- the people are cheerful and they are hopeful. but we're not more than two and a half weeks in, three weeks in. clear the bodies are still under the rubble. we still have to get these people out. you know, there are still the mass graves situation. there's still the situation distributions which are not going the way that i feel they should be going. and there's a situation right now where at the airport a lot of the aid is basically sitting at the airport. meaning that we have to come up with a system on getting the aid from the airport to these communities. >> tell me how it is or put it another way why it is that you can be hopeful that we're not going to get haiti fatigue, talking about americans now, because the evidence after

hurricane katrina suggestion that after all of our kindness. after all of our charity, after all of our largesse, as americans we just have short attention spans. and some other issue is going to come up. it's going to happen all the time. tell me why you believe we won't necessarily forget about haiti so soon when the evidence suggestion otherwise. >> i think because up because two things. one is we're dealing with america, that's one. but we also have to deal with the international community. now, here's a country that's really virgin, that has not been tampered with. besides the fact of pop which is the cap -- port awe up prince you have the incredible land and beaches. this is the first time we can get a marshall plan for the city of port awe prince. i think it's beneficial for the world, especially in the field of trade. remember back in the days when

the industry company was booming. a lot of this stuff was being made in haiti. the baseball was being made in haiti. so there's an opportunity right now where we can bring trade back, we can bring agriculture back, we can bring tourism back. because amongst disaster there's still opportunity. so we have to focus on how we move forward. >> that would require, though, a couple of things to be fair. it would require the political infrastructured intry -- >> first. >> -- to be more mature, sophisticated. i love the people of haiti but the political infrastructure over the years has had its challenges, yes? >> i agree with you 100%. over the years it has its challenges. but keep in mind that haiti still is premature in the sense of when was the first time we had our first democratic elections. so keep in mind, so we're still

talking about a premature. but in the case of -- i see a lot of people downing the haitia new york government. everybody is like they can do more. they can do more. now, i understand that side of it. but let's reverse this side of it. this is the worst disaster, one of the worst disasters known to mankind. when i landed from the d.r. and i saw the president's face of haiti, i have to tell you, i was like -- i felt sorry for what he was going through at the time. because it felt like when you go through port au prince and parts of haiti the whole country is crumbled. but at the end of the the day i was saying that there's no one to blame in the sense of this tragedy. how are we going to get it better now. >> the point of my question is as evidenced by my second question here, the part of my first question was not to demonize the people of haiti. because if the united states of

america, the empire that we are, couldn't get it right here after katrina, we ain't got no business talking about a place like haiti not being able to handle a disaster that -- i'll leave that alone. the point is not about demonizing them. we couldn't even get our act together number one. but it leads me to the second point here, second question, which is whether or not you think this moment will allow us to restructure our policy toward haiti. because again, the largesse is a beautiful thing. and the obama administration to their credit have made some changes, some immediate changes vis-a-vis our policy toward haiti. but you know better than anybody else that the way we've treated haiti, maltreated haiti over the year vis-a-vis our public policy, is this a moment for us to rethink that? >> it's a moment for america to rethink. that but it's also a moment for haitians that are going into the 21st century to rethink the

haitians constitution where there are certain changes that have to be made. one of the changes is dual citizenship. the fact of when you leave haiti and you become an american citizen, then there's a clause in the constitution saying you can't run for office. if you notice like in the dominican republic all of that has changed. i feel that real change of haiti is going to first come from the 4 million diasporas living outside of haiti that contribute many dollars a year, it's going to be them to be able to influence the constitution. i feel that haitians outside of haiti need to have some chairs inside that parliament. that's the start of a real change. >> it begs the obvious question. would wyclef jean ever be interested in engaging himself politically? we know you do it philanthropically, socially, culturally. politically would you ever be

interested in engaging? >> the first thing i would say to that question which i've been asked as you can see over and over again is that i am a natural leader to the youth in haiti. and i plan to always do that. when i was a few gee and i was in the -- fuje, i wore the -- fugee and i wore the haitians flag on my back, it's because i felt haiti to move forward. my uncle said who is it you are not in a time like this to move forward? he read me this verse. we're going to move forward. but the structure of government for us to be allowed to do what we have to do, we have to reshape a few things. >> two other questions. >> you like the way i answered that. >> if nothing else, you can be an ambassador. because that was real smooth what you put out there. two other questions that i think are polar op sits.

one, if one was a cynic -- i think cynic is the right word -- if one were a cynic, wyclef, one could argue, i think, that cosmos is aligned against this country. i mean, issue after issue, catastrophe after catastrophe, letdown after letdown. tell me why one again should not believe that cosmos is just aligned against this country ever being everything that it can be. >> because when we read certain books, i mean start like we are celebrating black history month, right? when we read like certain books, we can start with harriet tubman, nat turner, martin luther king, it looked like at one time that the cosmos was aligned against us. because when you read this you're like, you know, did they really lynch these people?

like early in the morning on some, you know, and then walk into houses and did they really bomb churches? and it looked like the cosmos was aligned against us. and martin luther king still was like, no, i'm telling y'all, this is going to change. and even us at times we looked at the man like he was crazy, what is he talking about. and i really think that for haiti the possibility of change is definitely near. >> i think the one thing that you -- of course being a haitian have known your entire life, the many times i've been to haiti, we have known for many years the spirit, the strong constitution that haitian people have. but i'm getting a sense now that through this tragedy, particularly around the stories of people surviving seven days, eight days, nine days. >> 14-days. >> 11 days, 14 days. those are just metaphors, if you

will, just examples of the constitution that haitian people have. talk to me about this soul force that these people seem to have for surviving. >> i mean, the think about haiti is it was called the last of the after cass in the caribbean, meaning it's a place that's not owned by no one. when i traveled through west africa, the vibe that i get when i'm in haiti it's the same vibe. you feel the culture. the people are very mystique. they're very spiritual. they're very loving god type of people. and i think if anything, the world is recognizing and they're saying, there's something really special about these people, you know? >> it's a beautiful thing. in 30 seconds, for those who are teet erring on haitian fatigue, who think that enough money has been raised, that we have done our part, your response is? >> my response is, make sure you watch the film "through the eyes of my flip cam" coming soon. and my response is, it's only

port au prince that you see but it's seven cities that are under. so we need as much money and logistics as we can to change this country around. >> he's a wonderful musician and humanitarian and friend. wyclef good to see you. >> see you in haiti. >> absolutely. up next r & b grammy-nominated artist trey songz. stay with us. >> trey songz has quickly gained a large following and acclaim drawing comparisons to articlely. his latest c.d. is called "not ready" which is nominated for "farm ready." this the video for the single "i invented sex." ♪ ♪

>> i'm a little bit older than you, trey songz. and yet even though i'm considerably older than you i still think in terms of my mama and what i condition get away with. i was thinking if i wrote a song called "i invented sex." so what did your mama say? >> she's actually here today. >> oh, she is? your mama is over there somewhere? hey, mama, how you doing? >> she understands. it's a business. and it's a great record. and conceptually she understands. i actually didn't invent sex, obviously. >> yeah. >> that was my second question. how did you do this.

[laughter] your mama has something to say about that and your daddy has something to say about that. >> actually it's a playful song. draws on the notion that the woman would think i invented sex because i'm so good at it. >> i'll take your wood for that. >> yeah. >> you had a good time at the grammies? >> i did. my mom went. and it's a great show. i was nominated. i lost to beyonce'. >> everybody did. all night long. >> that's what i am saying. i don't feel so bad. >> you can feel bad about. that what did you make about the fact that you have been able to cover as i said a moment ago a lot of critical acclaim. you've covered a lot of ground in a short time it seems like. >> within the last six months i would say my career has taken a big jump. short-term i wouldn't say -- it definitely was a lot of leg work. and i'm being recognized as of late for a lot of the work that was put in early on. there was probably a five-year

process before i got here when i was actually signed and even before then there was a four-year process to get signed. so you know, i think god does everything in perfect timing and now is my time. >> tell me more about the journey you have landed here at this space right about now. >> well, it look a lot of ups and downs, a lot of bumps, potholes, between myself and the label, you know, trying to find a common ground of what we wanted me to be. because i knew what i wanted to be and they had their idea of what they wanted me to be. and it took us getting to know one another, them trusting me a little more and our relationship getting stronger. because with the first albums from "i gotta make it" an introduction piece that showed only a piece of the artist i could be. the second album which had more of a hiphop contemporary feel to it, and this album, bringing all of my work together and them understanding what it is that i want to be. and we had a common interest, which is to make the biggest superstar that you can. and they have more trust in me

now and the music is speaking. and i think a lot of people try to put artists in a box. once they see them one way that's the way they want to see them forever. and i think the thing with me is i can be as versatile as i want to be. >> to your point now, tre', is there a part of your gift, your musical gift, is there a part of it we have not seen as yet? i suspect the more records you do the more we're going to see what your capable of. what are we not seeing in your repertoire? >> i plan to grow with every album. as i said earlier it's a business. so it is a strategy that goes into it all. and before you can get as creative as you like to be you have to be at a certain point in your career, a certain point where you have a certain amount of people's attention. so i definitely look to grow and expand, you know, my music from -- to the point where it can't really be put into a genre. if you listen to my album, i

have everything from old school r & b feel to, you know, basically a hiphop record to a song like "your side of the bed" which is prince-inspired, or "ladies know my name" which is my next single. mid tempo but urgent. so it's a wide variety of records. to lol smiley face which is actually a digital song about social networking. and i think that my talent has yet to be -- has yet to climax if it ever will. i think i'm just scratching the surface of my potential. >> you do records, obviously c.d.'s that is to say. but you also like dropping these tapes ever now and again. what do the tapes allow you to put out that c.d.'s don't? >> well, initially i would use the mixed tapes as a creative outlet. because like i said, my label and i really weren't coming to a common ground on what we wanted me to be. so while we were working on the album i was signed for the year

my album came out two years after i was signed. so i put the music out out of frustration. so it became something that i like today do even after having a deal and after having success, just putting my spin on other people's records or giving my fans more to keep providing them with different injections of why they like me. because i'm an option. if you have a choice to listen to me or not. and i want to keep reminding you why you do. >> i don't want to color this question too much deliberately, intentionally, what are you learning at this age about the business of music? >> well, the business of music is changing. rapidly. and i think over the last year and a half i've learned more than i ever have being from a digital standpoint, from a record standpoint, learning what the fan relationship means. because for the longest time the label in whomever else stood between the artist and the fan which made it hard for the artist to get their direct point across. all you knew about artists was

the music. all you could do was talk to them through fan letters or things of that nature. now you got twitter and face book. so i've used a lot of that to my advantage which was very instrumental in the success of this album. >> the social media. >> yeah. and other than that i'm learning to work myself. because i'm a product. learning how to sell myself without selling myself and still remain myself, true to myself. it's a funny game, man. you know, and i'm actually at the forefront of it now. so i see a lot more than i used to. i recently just changed management. kevin -- is my new manager as of probably a month and a half ago. so he's putting me onto a lot, helping me to be a young c.e.o. >> i assume first of all, i love that philosophy. how to sell yourself without selling yourself. who knew that trey songz was a philosopher, too, in addition to an artist. speaking of the music i assume

you'll pick up a few things hanging out with jigger on this tour. >> most definitely. i've known jay for a couple of years. but i speak to him in passing things of that nature. but i told him when he offered me to be on the tour i said you know i'm going to be up under now, powe. you know what i'm saying? shaking all the knowledge i can. he definitely laid the blueprint down. but for an artist turning an entrepreneur to show how far you can go, you know what i mean? true hero story. >> your point about social media, this stuff is on all of us, you, me, all of us in the public eye. this social media thing is everywhere. you can't run from it. i walked out from dinner the other night and "tmz" had a camera in my face. i knew they were in trouble. "tmz" following me somewhere. it was a slow night in los angeles. they followed me. but i wonder in this era of social media and in the business whether or not you feel a certain -- because you're such a

sex symbol to these young girls -- whether or not there's a certain level of pressure that you feel. and how's trey songz navigating, knowing that he's living in a world where every step you take somebody is watching it? >> oh, it's crazy, man. because you know, you have to be calculated but at the same time you try to live your life. so like -- in the internet, man, it can mess with you if you let it. because every week i'm with a different girl on there. i just had somebody moved in with me. you know what i'm saying? >> you just heard that. [laughter] >> you heard somebody moved in with me. >> i ain't even home. i don't know how that happened. [laughter] >> but you got to learn to have tough skin. and you got to learn to think before you act in a lot of cases. i've learned that from the beginning of my career to this, as i matured to make smarter decisions and not to think -- because you can't just do

things. because everything you do is magnified. people are so into your lives that they turn your problems into the the biggest problems ever when everybody is into something, everybody has something that they wouldn't like people to know. but when it's somebody that is in great light often once that darkness comes they put an overcast so dark on them, you know what i mean? and you know, you just got to walk light and pray to god that you don't mess up. because they are unforgiving. >> they are indeed. but they like you. you got a whole lot of forgiveness stored up. his name is trey songz as if you didn't know. the new c.d. is called "ready" grammy-nominated this year. trey good to have you on the program. >> thank you. >> hope to see you again. >> did you buy that? >> you see the thing, don't you? >> no. they gave that to you. >> you think they gave this to me? >> they gave that to you. i'm like 20,000 away from gold.

i need your help. >> you really need my money. >> i need your help. >> love you, good to have you here. that's our show for the night. catch me on weekends on p.r.i. until next time, keep the faith. ♪ ♪ ♪ [closed captioning made possible by kcet public television] captioned by the national captioning institute -- www.ncicap.org -- >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. >> join me next time with one of the key republicans on the healthcare debate, texas senator john core anyone. plus bill withers. until next time we'll see you then. >> there are so many things that wal-mart is looking forward to doing, like helping people live better. but mostly we're looking forward to helping build stronger

communities and relationships. because with your help, the best is yet to come. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. tavis and nationwide insurance, working to improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. >> nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.