The concert will begin at 8 p.m. in the Corbin J. Robertson Center. Opening act for the concert will be Overlord, who has been named Austin hip-hop artist of the year eight times.

Wyclef is currently on a major concert tour with Shakira that includes performances at Madison Square Garden and Houston’s Toyota Center. He will be performing at Southwestern in between concerts in Corpus Christi and San Antonio.

A native of Haiti, Wyclef began his career as a rapper with the Fugees, a trio that included Prakazrel Michel and Lauryn Hill. Their 1996 album, The Score, became one of the top-selling and most influential hip-hop albums ever, and earned the group a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.

After The Score, Wyclef embarked on a solo career that has included the release of five albums: Wyclef Jean Presents the Carnival (1997), The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book (2000), Masquerade (2002), The Preacher’s Son (2003), and Welcome to Haiti: Creole 101 (2004).

His hit singles include “Fu-Gee-La,” “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” “We Trying to Stay Alive,” and “Gone Till November.” His most recent hit song with Shakira, “Hips Don’t Lie,” received Best Choreography in a Video in the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.

In 2005, Wyclef earned a Golden Globe nomination for “Million Voices,” which appeared on the soundtrack to the film “Hotel Rwanda.”

Wyclef has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Destiny’s Child, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Mya, Santana, Kimberly Scott, Sinéad O’Connor, Mick Jagger and Canibus.

He also has participated and organized numerous benefit concerts for a variety of causes, including aid to his native Haiti. He founded the Wyclef Jean Foundation to help children both in Haiti and the United States, and has a special concern for those growing up in crime-ridden housing projects.

“I am really excited about Wyclef coming to Southwestern,” said Alicia Moore, assistant professor of education. “His eclectic sound (Caribbean, reggae, hip hop, R&B) is awesome and it is enhanced by his activism, altruistic philanthropy and political consciousness.”

Wyclef’s performance will be the second “large act concert” held at Southwestern. Last spring, New Found Glory performed in a concert that was a fundraiser for victims of hurricane Katrina.