As far as Hip Hop lore goes, few garner more respect than the New York trio The Fugees. Composed of emcee/singer Lauryn Hill, emcee Pras Michel, and singer/emcee/producer Wyclef Jean the group brings a unique blend of Reggae, R&B, & Hip Hop and are a staple of any 90s hip hop head’s collection.
The Fugees released two albums during their original run of 1994-1997. Lauryn Hill went on to release her critically acclaimed and commercially successful The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) (I have the utmost respect for this incredibly multi-talented artist who is, unfortunately, an oddity in a genre that is stereotypical viewed as misogynistic). Wyclef Jean went on to have success, releasing the classic The Carnival (1997), but his career has gone downhill ever since he stopped being himself and started trying to be the next Bob Marley. Michel decided to focus on acting and soundtrack recording, finding success in “Ghetto Superstar.” Unfortunately, despite a reunion from 2004 to 2007 that featured a critically acclaimed performance in Dave Chappelle’s Block Party (2006), no new Fugees album was released and the group split on bad terms. In August 2007, Michel was quoted as saying that, “Before I work with Lauryn Hill, you will have a better chance of seeing Osama Bin Laden and Bush in Starbucks having a latte.”
This hip hop classic comes off of the defining 1996 Fugees LP The Score—an album which is a member of the ever prestigious and even more exclusive collection of albums that have received 5 Mics in The Source. This track, a remake of The Delfonics’ “Ready of Not Here I Come (Can’t Hide From Love)” that samples Enya’s “Boadicea,” is perhaps my favorite Fugees track and is instantly recognizable nearly anywhere on Earth.
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