Wyclef Jean, Haitian musician, will be performing at Brittney Griner’s first home game since being released from Russian prison. Jean plans to perform a cover of late Jamaican icon Bob Marley’s “One Love.” Additionally, he will select 200 lucky fans to perform the song with him in celebration of the WNBA player’s homecoming. Also, Wyclef will be performing a concert after the game.
Jean shared in April that he was checking himself into the hospital. The artist admitted himself for unknown reasons. He then shared the news with fans in a video of the artist in a wheelchair. Text overlaying the video reads, “Sometimes we forget that our body is our temple.” Then he added, “Be back soon.” In October, Jean signed on as the Chair of the Music Advisory Board for the Harlem Festival of Culture. He expresses that he is “thrilled” about his new position with the festival. “On a personal note, Harlem has always held a special place in my heart,” he revealed. Jean shares that he has a connection with the neighborhood “as [he] performed there very early in [his] career and throughout.”
Griner’s Comeback
The basketball player shared an emotional statement shortly after her release from Russian police custody and was sent back to the United States. She thanked the public, saying, “Thank y’all for covering me and all the exposure that you gave me […] to get me home.” The basketball star says she’s writing a memoir, which is based on her experiences as a prisoner in Russia in the spring of 2024. Griner calls the experience “an unfathomable period in my life” which she is “only now am I ready to share.” The memoir will outline “in vivid detail her harrowing experience of her wrongful detainment.” Also, it will outline “the difficulty of navigating the byzantine Russian legal system in a language she did not speak.”
Griner came to the defense of transgender athletes in April, saying that she believes “everyone deserves the right to play.” She added, “I think it’s a crime to separate someone for any reason.” She additionally shared that she wants to speak out about the anti-trans sports bill that was recently passed. The artist’s performance at her homecoming celebrates the battle she faced to return.