Early life

Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis was born and raised in a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. At 14, he began playing the bass. Early influences at this time included Aston Barrett, and James Jamerson. At 16, he was sent to the US and was raised by his father and his aunt who was also Wyclef's mother. The basement of their family home soon became their home studio.

From church to some time at the Institute of Audio Research, and gigs wherever he could play, their home studio "Booga Basement" was opened serving artists near New Jersey. Wyclef, Samuel Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill would then unite to create a new Caribbean style group ultimately known as the Fugees. Wonda and Wyclef would align to provide production for the group which would be signed by Ruffhouse/Columbia. Label mates at the time would include Cypress Hill and Kris Kross.

Jerry Wonda/Wyclef Jean years

Jerry performing onstage.

Jerry Wonda and Wyclef Jean's producing took off with the Fugees. Their cover of the Roberta Flack classic "Killing Me Softly" sung by lead vocalist Lauryn Hill reached No. 2 on the Pop charts and No. 1 on the R&B charts. Co-produced by Wonda, their album The Score became one of the best-selling hip hop albums of all time gaining worldwide recognition.

Wonda and Wyclef made history in 2000. Santana's Supernatural single "Maria Maria", which Wonda co-produced, held the No. 1 chart position for 10 weeks. In 2006, the duo produced Shakira's worldwide hit "Hips Don't Lie" from the album Oral Fixation Vol. 2. It became the top-selling song of the 21st century and reached No. 1 in more than 50 countries, leading Shakira to be the 1st female Colombian singer to top Billboard's Hot 100 chart. They also co-wrote "My Love Is Your Love" for Whitney Houston's album of the same name.

Film scoring

In 1996, Wonda would co-produce the Fugees all-star Ali tribute "Rumble in the Jungle" featuring A Tribe Called Quest and Busta Rhymes for the Muhammad Ali documentary When We Were Kings. The Warren Beatty film Bulworth includes "Ghetto Superstar" performed by Pras Michel, ODB and Mýa and "How Come" by Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour and rapper Canibus.

Alongside Wyclef and Andrea Guerra, Wonda wrote and produced the theme song "Million Voices" for the film Hotel Rwanda, which was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2005. The same song was later nominated for a Grammy Award in 2006.^[1] Other film credits include The Manchurian Candidate, Dave Chappelle's Block Party and 50 First Dates.

In 2001, Wonda built Platinum Sound Recording Studios in Times Square, NYC.

Since 2009

In 2009, Wonda began producing music on his own, founding a production company called Wonda Music and placing his first major record with teen sensation, Justin Bieber for "U Smile." He has since followed up several placements to include artists Mary J. Blige, Musiq Soulchild, Keri Hilson, Estelle, Busta Rhymes, Miguel and Lupe Fiasco. Wonda began signing artists, producers, and songwriters to his Wonda Music imprint.

Producer and co-producer