JANUARY 14–The Haiti earthquake has already triggered hundreds of thousands of donations to musician Wyclef Jean’s charitable foundation, which expects to raise upwards of $1 million a day in the disaster’s wake. However, Internal Revenue Service records show the group has a lackluster history of accounting for its finances, and that the organization has paid the performer and his business partner at least $410,000 for rent, production services, and Jean’s appearance at a benefit concert. Though the Wyclef Jean Foundation, which does business as Yele Haiti Foundation, was incorporated 12 years ago–and has been active since that time–the group only first filed tax returns in August 2009. That month, the foundation provided the IRS with returns covering calendar years 2005, 2006, and 2007–the only periods for which it has publicly provided a glimpse at its financial affairs. In 2006, Jean’s charity reported contributions of $1 million, the bulk of which came from People magazine in exchange for the first photos of a pregnant Angelina Jolie (the actress reportedly directed that the publication’s payment go to Jean’s charity, not her personally). As seen on the following pages from the foundation’s 2006 tax return, the group paid $31,200 in rent to Platinum Sound, a Manhattan recording studio owned by Jean and Jerry Duplessis, who, like Jean, is a foundation board member. A $31,200 rent payment was also made in 2007 to Platinum Sound. The rent, tax returns assure, “is priced below market value.” The recording studio also was paid $100,000 in 2006 for the “musical performance services of Wyclef Jean at a benefit concert.”

The Smoking Gun has posted the IRS Records citing a lackluster history at accounting for it’s finances and that the organization has paid the performer and his business partner at least $410,000 for rent, production services, and Jean’s appearance at a benefit concert. The Smoking Gun has been  known to drop the Ether Napalm Bomb on rappers but I’m not a fan of this at all. I fully support Wyclef & his Yele’s Organization effort to raise money for Haiti and I just can’t imagine anyone, especially someone like Wyclef with as much love that he has for his country capitalizing off this.

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“We are living in an imperfect world, where people expect us to be perfect.” – Marion Barry

Although Marion Barry became internationally known for his very public downfall, the story of his life before and after that event is less widely known. THE NINE LIVES OF MARION BARRY explores Barry’s improbable personal history though archival footage of him as a young activist in the ’60s and rising African-American political star in the ’70s, chronicling his resurgence on the D.C. political scene in 2004 with his most recent campaign. Directors and producers Dana Flor and Toby Oppenheimer received unparalleled first-hand access to Barry and his ex-wife Effi (who died in 2007), as well as to many others close to Barry throughout his life.

HBO Documentaries have consistently been on point like the tip of a hawk since before Marion Barry was smoking crack, I don’t expect this one to be any different. Looking forward to seeing the story of his life before his public downfall….still Chris Rock’s take on this rings through my head every time his name is mentioned……”How did that happen? Smoked crack, got his job back! What was the other guy on heroin? “Vote for me! Vote for me! Don’t vote for crack, vote for smack!”