Wyclef Jean has postponed plans to stage a pre-Christmas concert in his native Haiti because he wants to create more awareness about the troubles there first.

Wyclef originally planned to stage an all-star gig on December 5 but that fell through when he failed to persuade big names and sponsors to join him for the morale-boosting show.

The hip-hop star now hopes to stage a series of concerts in New York and Los Angeles to raise awareness and money for the plight of thousands of Haitians, who have been left homeless following recent storms and conflict on the island.

Wyclef's first Yele Haiti benefit show has been hastily organized to take place at Glo in New York on Thursday night.

The gig, reported by q102philly.com ,will feature another reunion with the Refugee Allstars and soul great Roberta Flack, whose "Killing Me Softly" song was revamped for The Fugees'' first international smash hit.

Thursday's event, which will be hosted by Susan Sarandon and director Jonathan Demme, will also feature Cassandra Wilson and music mogul Nile Rogers.

Wyclef's publicist Erin Burke says, "This is his effort to lead his own movement to help rebuild Haiti through sustained emergency relief efforts as well as long-term projects for sustainable development."

"He's planning the Yele Haiti inaugural concert for spring 2005 in Port-au-Prince. The event will be historical, an estimated 1.5 million Haitians are expected to attend the concert. It will be the first free concert of this size ever organized in the world."