The Haiti-born hip hop artist has returned to Port-au-Prince for the one year anniversary of the earthquake that left Haiti in ruins and killed a quarter-million of his countrymen.

"It was a positive decision, but it wasn't a popular decision to make -- especially as a musician," said Jean, sporting a striped shirt and a velvet jacket, speaking to AFP about his aborted run for office.

The singer says he lost endorsement deals and sponsorships during his brief run for Haiti's highest political post.

"In any situation, when you put yourself in a position to run for office, you basically have terminated your career," the artist told AFP.

His presidential bid spawned some criticism but also widespread support, especially among Haiti's youth.

But his candidacy was rejected when Haiti's electoral council determined he did not meet the residency criteria.

Jean has accused Preval of orchestrating the decision by the electoral council to ban him from the vote, and the singer's supporters say Preval stacked the electoral council with supporters of his Unity party, which they say is determined to hold on to power.

"Running for president, then I don't get accepted," he said ruefully.

Haiti's bitterly disputed first round vote has been mired in charges of election fraud that could force the Preval-backed candidate, Jude Celestin, to quit the runoff vote.

The election upheaval has only compounded the chaos in Haiti, where more than 220,000 people were killed and 1.3 left homeless in the January 12, 2010 quake.

Jean is in Port-au-Prince to promote the work of his Yele Haiti Foundation, which has been praised for providing jobs and assistance to the country's destitute slum dwellers, helping clean streets and sending children to schools.

But the group came under scrutiny for allegedly using donated funds to pay Jean's production company for benefit concerts, charges which dimmed his brief stint in the political spotlight.

Still, the singer says his misfortunes are nothing compared to those of the millions of destitute Haitians all around him.

"But I've still got my life, right? I probably would've been saddened if I lost a limb or a leg," he said, referring to the thousands of earthquake victims who were injured.

"I have my health. That's important."

There is a flash of lingering resentment against Preval, who Jean said is showing Haiti his "cards."

"When the law doesn't work for you, you change it," the singer said of the president's approach.

"Since everything I predict, through music and lyrics, it all comes true. The reign of a king is but for so long. The reign of a tyrant is limited."

These days his time is spent working for his non-profit organization, and making music, which has helped to put him "in a better place" after the abrupt end of his campaign.

At present, he says, he's working on a new album for Sony, "HBA: Haitian by Association."

But while art has proved to be an effective balm for him, Jean acknowledges that it is not the answer for his shattered homeland.

"You can sing about it all day," he said.

"But until you put yourself in the fire, and you're willing to work and debate and slam the hammer to get things passed, it will all just be a facade -- within the imagination of a good song."

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News