Wyclef Jean + Jerry “Wonda” Duplessis (Haiti)
When Wyclef made a roll call on the intro of The Fugees’ “Killing Me Softly,” he formally introduced himself, Lauryn Hill, Pras, and a a guy you might not have noticed by the name of Little Bass a.k.a. Jerry “Wonda” Duplessis. Technically, The Fugees has always been more than a trio, if you include Jerry—Wyclef’s cousin—who has been with the crew since he and ‘Clef immigrated to the U.S. from Haiti as a teenagers.
While Duplessis wasn’t a vocal member of the group, his bass guitar has done all of the talking for him, anchoring his co-production of The Fugees’ Caribbean-tinged sound with reggae, soca, calypso and konpa flavors. His legacy is musically and visually etched in the pop culture memory bank strumming the thumping bassline of Fugees classics on live TV at the BET Awards. The combination of Wyclef and Jerry Wonda though is a sonic whirlpool that swallowed up salsa and reggaeton for Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie,” and bellydance music for ‘Clef’s “Hollywood to Bollywood.” These days, Wonda has made a name for himself in hip-hop producing Raekwon’s rap-reggae collab with Assassin and Melanie Fiona, “Soundboy Kill It,” and Lupe Fiasco’s “Out of My Head.” Sak pasé.