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The Fugees
The Fugees
The Fugees translated an intriguing blend of jazz-rap, R&B, and reggae into huge success during the mid-'90s, when the trio's sophomore album The Score hit number one on the pop charts and sold over five million copies. The trio formed in the late '80s in the New Jersey area, where Lauryn Hill and Prakazrel Michel ("Pras") attended a local high school and began working together. Michel's cousin Wyclef Jean ("Clef") joined the group (then called the Tranzlator Crew), and the trio signed to Ruffhouse/Columbia in 1993. After renaming themselves the Fugees (a term of derision, short for refugees, which was usually used to describe Haitian immigrants). Though the group's debut album, Blunted on Reality, was quite solid, it reflected a prevailing gangsta stance that may have been forced by the record label.

No matter how pigeonholed the Fugees may have sounded on their debut, the group had obviously asserted their control by the time of their second album, The Score. With just as much intelligence as their jazz-rap forebears, the trio also worked with surprisingly straight-ahead R&B on the soulful "Killing Me Softly With His Song," sung by Lauryn Hill. Elsewhere, Clef and Pras sampled doo wop and covered Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry," giving the record familiarity for the commercial mainstream, but keeping it real with insightful commentary on their urban surroundings. The Score became one of the surprise hits of 1996, reaching number one on the pop charts and making the Fugees one of the most visible rap groups around the world. During 1997, the crew played on the Smokin' Grooves tour, and took time out while Hill gave birth to a child and Clef issued a solo album, The Carnival Featuring the Refugee Allstars. In 1998 Hill released her smash record The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and in 2000 Clef released his second solo disc, The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book. In turn, their solo success cast further doubt on another Fugees release. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
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Most Popular Music Videos (1)

Ready Or Not
(Duration: 4:34)
Aug 26th, 10:16pm

Fan Comments

May 6th, 9:42pm
150%


Dallas, Texas

Peace
Mar 19th, 8:12pm
JERSEY BEEN IN THE BUILDING!!!!
DAMN RIGHT!!!! FUGEE-LA FEVER!
Feb 14th, 2:06am
Used Ready or not as part of my Intro for a DJ Battle and won Been a Fan since the first album with FUGEELA. My boy Khalid Best went to high School with Lauryn Hill he kept telling me about her coming out in a movie and kept talking about her being part of a group thenm one day blow the album dropped and I was like wow she is good and so is the group.
Still a major fan since then and to this Day -
DJ Emir
www.djemir.com
Get DJ Emir's mixtapes exclusively at www.DJEMIR.com
Including the Iron Man Mixtape The extreme follow up to the smash hit 2008 mixtape of the year the Transformers Mixtape
Dec 3rd, 5:27pm
who the hell is angela & vannesa... twin loserz ha ha lmfao
Nov 11th, 9:41am
you guys were and are the illest out there
much love : ]