Jean moved to Brooklyn, New York when he was nine, then to Northern New Jersey, where he began playing the guitar and studying jazz in his high school. In 1987, Jean, his friend (so close they told people they were cousins growing up) Prakazrel Michel (Pras) and his classmate, Lauryn Hill, formed a group called the Tranzlator Crew before becoming The Fugees. Wyclef worked as a cabdriver.
Recently he has been finding success as a collaborator - with his turn on Shakira's 2006 track 'Hips Don't Lie' hitting number one in many countries around the world.
In August of 2010, Jean announced his intent to seek the presidency of Haiti. This move came after his increasingly-high profile humanitarian work in the wake of the earthquake that devastated that nation.
Dance Like this
Wyclef Jean Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I ain't come to fight tonight
Too many ladies up in here tonight
(Everybody report to the dance floor please! Grab a girl!)
[Wyclef]
I never really knew that you could dance like this
Como se llama, Bonita? Mi casa, Su casa
[Claudette]
The way you move, you've got me hypnotized
Especially when I look into his eyes
Hey Papi, I want to see you do the dance to the conga
[Wyclef]
Hey girl, I can see your body movin' and it's driving me crazy
And I did not [unknown] until I saw you dancin'
The way you walk up on the dance floor
Noobody could ignore the way you move your body, girl
And everything so unexpected the way you right and left it
So you could keep on digging it
Baila la baile de noche
Baila la baile de dýa
Baila la baile de noche
Baila la baile de dýa
[Chorus]
[Claudette]
Hey boy, now that I see your new rhythm
I'm in a state of shock now
The way I can see your body movin'
And I don't want you to stop now
I like the way you approach me so sensually
You got me in a daze, boy
I can't ignore the way you're dancin'
You got me in a trance and I can't explain it
Baila la baile de noche
Baila la baile de dýa
Baila la baile de noche
Baila la baile de dýa
[Chorus]
[Wyclef]
Senorita, feel the conga
Let me see you move like you come from Havana
[Claudette:]
Ohhh, I didn't know you did it like that
Hey, you Papi, don't you stop it
I want to see you move your body
Ohhh, I didn't know you did it like that
Baila la baile de noche
Baila la baile de dýa
Baila la baile de noche
Baila la baile de dýa
[Chorus]
Baila la baile de noche
Baila la baile de dýa
Baila la baile de noche
Baila la baile de dýa
[Chorus: x 2]
The song Dance Like This by Wyclef Jean featuring Claudette Ortiz of City High is a fun dance track that celebrates the joy of dancing. The song opens with Wyclef Jean stating that he did not come to fight tonight because there are too many ladies in the club. He is mesmerized by the way a particular woman is dancing and asks her, "como se llama, Bonita?" which means "what's your name, beautiful?" He goes on to say that she makes him want to do the conga dance and invites her to dance with him.
Claudette Ortiz joins in with her sultry vocals and tells the man that she likes the way he dances and wants him to keep going. She compliments him on his style and sensuality and admits that he has her in a trance. The chorus encourages everyone to dance both day and night, and the song ends with a call for more dancing.
Overall, the song is about letting go, having fun, and enjoying the music and the movement it inspires. It's a song that celebrates the freedom and joy of dancing, and reminds us to take a break from the cares of life and just let loose on the dance floor.
Line by Line Meaning
I ain't come to fight tonight
I didn't come here to fight, I just wanna dance
Too many ladies up in here tonight
There are a lot of women here tonight
I never really knew that you could dance like this
I had no idea you could dance so well
She makes her man want to ??
She makes her man want to do something (unclear)
Como se llama, Bonita? Mi casa, Su casa
What's your name, beautiful? My house is your house
The way you move, you've got me hypnotized
You're moving in a way that mesmerizes me
Especially when I look into his eyes
Especially when I gaze into his eyes
Hey Papi, I want to see you do the dance to the conga
Hey hottie, I want to see you dance to the conga
Hey girl, I can see your body movin' and it's driving me crazy
I can see your body moving, and it's making me crazy
And I did not [unknown] until I saw you dancin'
I didn't know something until I saw you dancing (unclear)
The way you walk up on the dance floor
The way you strut up to the dance floor
Nobody could ignore the way you move your body, girl
No one could ignore the way you move your body
And everything so unexpected the way you right and left it
Everything is so unexpected the way you move right and left
So you could keep on digging it
Keep on dancing like that
Baila la baile de noche
Baila la baile de dýa
Baila la baile de noche
Baila la baile de dýa
[Chorus]
Dance the night away, dance during the day, dance the night away, dance during the day (Chorus)
Hey boy, now that I see your new rhythm
Now that I see your new dance moves, hey boy
I'm in a state of shock now
I'm shocked right now
And I don't want you to stop now
And I don't want you to stop dancing
I like the way you approach me so sensually
I like the way you sensually approach me
You got me in a daze, boy
You've got me in a trance, boy
I can't ignore the way you're dancin'
I can't ignore the way you're dancing
You got me in a trance and I can't explain it
You've got me in a trance and I can't explain how
Senorita, feel the conga
Madame, feel the conga
Let me see you move like you come from Havana
Let me see you dance like you're from Havana
Ohhh, I didn't know you did it like that
I didn't know you danced like that
Hey, you Papi, don't you stop it
Hey hottie, don't stop dancing
I want to see you move your body
I want to see you dance
Baila la baile de noche
Baila la baile de dýa
Baila la baile de noche
Baila la baile de dýa
[Chorus]
Dance the night away, dance during the day, dance the night away, dance during the day (Chorus)
Baila la baile de noche
Baila la baile de dýa
Baila la baile de noche
Baila la baile de dýa
[Chorus: x 2]
Dance the night away, dance during the day, dance the night away, dance during the day (Chorus x 2)
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: WYCLEF JEAN, JERRY DUPLESSIS, OMAR ALFANNO, LATAVIA PARKER, LUIZ DIAZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind