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Fugees
American hip-hop trio from New Jersey
The Fugees are an American hip-hop group formed in South Orange, New Jersey, in 1990. The trio of Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras Michel became known for their fusion of hip-hop and R&B with elements of reggae, soul and other musical styles across the African diaspora.
Derived from "refugees", their name references Jean's immigrant background, his and Michel's Haitian heritage, and recurring themes of resilience. The group's socially conscious lyrics, eclectic sound, and use of live instrumentation stood apart during the gangsta rap-dominated era, establishing them as one of the most significant acts in alternative hip-hop.
genres: hip-hop, pop music, reggae, soul, jazz rap, contemporary R&B
Facts from Wikidata and Discogs, free to use.
hip hopalternative hip hopcontemporary r&bboom bapconscious hip hopeast coast hip hop
The Dial Tone DailyExtra
1990–1994: Formation and Blunted on Reality
Lauryn Hill and Pras first met at Columbia High School, in Maplewood, New Jersey. Pras, Lauryn, and a mutual friend Marcy Harriell formed a musical trio called Tyme; Wyclef Jean joined the line-up and Marcy left soon afterward, in 1990. The moniker Tranzlator Crew refers to the name of their band at the time, which included Johnny Wise on drums, Ti Bass (Jerry Duplessis) on bass guitar, and original DJ Hard Hittin Harry (Harry D'Janite). DJ Leon (Leon Higgins) joined the group in 1994 after Harry left to pursue a career as a publicist. In 1993, after some gigs and recorded demos, the trio signed to Ruffhouse, distributed through Columbia Records. The members then changed the group's name to Fugees, which was purposely taken from a word...
The Fugees have often been referred to as one of the most influential and significant groups of the 1990s, with Billboard stating "their influence on modern hip-hop and R&B music is undeniable". They are often considered to be one of the definitive alternative hip-hop acts, being one of the first alternative hip-hop acts to break into the mainstream. According to Forbes, their success helped establish Ruffhouse Records as a major record label. Consequence noted the Fugees for putting Haiti on the hip-hop map. Alternative Press argued that the group paved the way for modern alternative music and stated "If you listen to modern hip-hop today, so many of the new faces went to the Fugees' School of Songwriting."
American hip hop group founded in 1992 in South Orange, New Jersey and disbanded in 1997. They reformed 2004-2005, and again in 2021 for the 25th anniversary of "The Score."
Also known as: Brit Awards/Fugees, Eugees, F. Gees, Fu-Gees, Fu-gee
From Discogs (free to use). Their entry
Liner notes
Fugees, the records, oldest first
Blunted on Reality
1994 album
The Score
1996 album
wanted
Records from MusicBrainz; covers from the Cover Art Archive.
"Ready or Not" is a song by American hip-hop group Fugees from their second studio album, The Score (1996). The song contains a sample of "Boadicea" (1987) by Irish singer Enya, and its chorus is based on "Ready or Not Here I Come " by the Delfonics.
The song was released as the album's third single in Japan on September 1, 1996, and in the United Kingdom the following day.
Background
The song contains a sample of "Boadicea" by new-age singer Enya from her first solo album, Enya (1987). Enya considered suing the Fugees because they had sampled "Boadicea" without her permission. Enya stated, "We were actually on the verge of suing them because of the copyright infringement, because they just didn't approach us. It was a case of, I wasn't featured at all on the credits and it [the sample] was very much a part of the song." However, the singer reached an agreement with the Fugees to an out-of-court settlement after she realized that their music was not gangsta rap. According to Wyclef, "Luckily when Enya heard everything, she was like, 'This is different' and she gave us a pass – which she don't even need to do." The...
Critical reception
Larry Flick from Billboard magazine felt the song was "far more representative of the act's vibe", and that "this cut nicely illustrates its lyrical strength as well as its talent for switching from smooth soul singing to sharp rapping within the space of a few seconds." Gil L. Robertson IV from Cash Box named it a standout track of The Score album. Damien Mendis from Music Week's RM Dance Update gave it a full score of five out of five, commenting, "New Jersey's pride and joy return with a soulful blend of rap, R&B and reggae. The original radio version taken from their gold-selling album [...] already won fans due to its hypnotic use of the Delfonics' number 41 hit of 1971 'Ready or Not, Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)'. The promos...
Music video
The accompanying music video for "Ready or Not" was directed by German director Marcus Nispel. Vibe reported that the video helped usher in the era of bank-breaking, movie-like hip-hop videos. The video featured helicopters, explosions, sharks, chase scenes, and a price tag of 1.3 million US dollars. In justifying the cost, Pras told Vibe "People want to see drama, man. You figure: A kid pays sixteen dollars for your CD. Let him see a good video."
Legacy
Philosopher Alison Stone credits "Ready or Not" as one of the earliest examples of rap-singing, which combines rapped and melodic elements in its vocal parts or with a "straightforwardly melodic" chorus. Lauryn Hill's verse in particular has been noted as precursor for modern melodic rap from singing-rappers like Drake and Young Thug. Hill's verse saw her addressing misogyny in the male dominated hip-hop scene, along with taking aim at gangsta rappers at the height of gangsta rap, while carving out a lane for The Fugees in alternative hip-hop. Journalist William E. Ketchum of Billboard, proclaimed that Hill "is largely considered as the greatest woman rapper of all time", and added that her verse on the song showcases "her bars on full...
