Wyclef Jean has spoken about his failed presidential bid in Haiti and said welcomed like The Beatles in the country.

The rapper, who lived in Haiti until he was nine, attempted to run for president after country suffered a devastating earthquake earlier this year.

But his candidacy stalled because the Haitian constitution requires that each applicant must have resided in the country for a least five years before an election.

In an interview with The Guardian, Jean said he felt compelled to launch the bid.

“I felt that, if I ran for president, there would be too many eyes on the country for even the most corrupt to break the law,” he said. "And in that aspect, I was wrong, because I got kicked out of the race before even running."

The former Fugees star also claimed he is received like a hero in the country.

Haiti is my country," he said. “The same way the Beatles are received in England – that's how Wyclef Jean is received in Haiti.”

Jean’s new album ‘If I Were President: My Haitian Experience’ is due out 2011.

(by Jason Gregory)