| Fugees | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Also known as | The Rap Translators, also later known as Tranzlator Crew Refugee Camp |
| Origin | South Orange, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop, soul, reggae fusion |
| Years active | 1992–1998, 2004–2006 |
| Labels | Ruffhouse/Columbia Records |
| Website | Official Fugees Website |
| Past members | |
| Lauryn Hill Wyclef Jean Pras Michel |
|
Fugees (pronounced /ˈfuːdʒiːz/) were a Haitian American hip hop group who rose to fame in the mid-1990s. Their repertoire included elements of hip hop, soul and Caribbean music, particularly reggae. The members of the group were rapper/singer/producer Wyclef Jean, rapper/singer/producer Lauryn Hill, and rapper Pras Michel. Deriving their name from the term refugee, Jean and Pras are Haitian, while Hill is American. The group recorded two albums—one of which, The Score (1996), was a multi-platinum and Grammy-winning success—before disbanding in 1997. Hill and Jean each went on to successful solo recording careers; Michel focused on soundtrack recordings and acting, though he found commercial success with his song "Ghetto Supastar". In 2007, MTV ranked them the 9th greatest Hip-hop group of all time.[1]
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The trio formed in the early nineties, but changed direction and released their first hip-hop LP, Blunted on Reality, in 1994 under the guidance of Kool and the Gang's producer Ronald Bell. The album spawned two underground hits, "Nappy Heads (Mona Lisa)" and "Vocab", but gained little mainstream attention, although it had an unmistakable artistic quality and a very innovative approach in the use of samples.[2] The musical qualities of their first record would be rediscovered, after the release of their second album The Score which appeared in early 1996.
The Score became one of the biggest hits of 1996 and one of the best-selling hip hop albums of all time. The Fugees first gained attention for their cover versions of old favorites, with the group's reinterpretations of "No Woman No Cry" by Bob Marley & the Wailers and "Killing Me Softly with His Song" (originally written by Lori Lieberman in 1971, remade by Roberta Flack in 1973), the latter being their biggest hit. The album also included a re-interpretation of The Delfonics' "Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide From Love)" in their hit single, "Ready or Not", which featured a prominent sample of Enya's "Boadicea" without the singer's permission. This prompted a lawsuit resulting in a settlement where Enya was given credit and royalties for her sample.[3] The Fugees have continuously thanked and praised Enya for her deep understanding of the situation, for example in the liner notes for The Score. The Fugees won two 1997 Grammy Awards with The Score (Best Rap Album) and "Killing Me Softly" (Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group).
In 1997, the Fugees all began solo projects: Hill started work on her critically acclaimed The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill; Jean began producing for a number of artists (including Canibus, Destiny's Child and Carlos Santana) and recorded his debut album The Carnival; Pras, with Mya and Ol' Dirty Bastard, recorded the single "Ghetto Supastar" for the soundtrack to the Warren Beatty/Halle Berry film Bulworth. In early 1998, they reunited to shoot a music video for the song "Just Happy to Be Me" which appeared in the Sesame Street special Elmopalooza, and also on the Grammy Award winning soundtrack album.
The trio purposely took its name from a word often used derogatorily to refer to Haitian-Americans (refugee).[4] Refugee Camp, while a name sometimes credited to the trio, also refers to a number of artists affiliated with them, and particularly Jean. John Forté was an early member, rapping and drum programming on two of The Score's tracks, and served a 14-year prison sentence for cocaine trafficking until his sentence was commuted in November 2008 by George W. Bush.
The three Fugees reunited and performed on September 18, 2004 at the concert in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn featured in the film Dave Chappelle's Block Party, headlining a star-studded bill that included Kanye West, Mos Def, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, The Roots, Talib Kweli, Common, Big Daddy Kane, Dead Prez, Cody ChestnuTT and John Legend. Their performance received mostly positive reviews, many of which praised Hill's near acappella rendition of "Killing Me Softly".
The Fugees would make their first televised appearance in almost ten years at BET's 2005 Music Awards on June 28, opening the show with a twelve minute set. With a new album announced to be in the works, one track, "Take It Easy", was leaked online and eventually released as an Internet single on September 27, 2005. It peaked at #40 on the Billboard R&B Chart and was met with poor reviews, noting its radical departure from the Fugees' sound.
In 2005, the Fugees embarked on a European tour—their first together since 1997—from November 30 to December 20, playing in Finland, Austria, Norway, Germany, Italy, France, England, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and Slovakia. The tour received mixed reviews. On February 6, 2006, the group reunited for a free show in Hollywood, with tickets given away to about 8,000 fans by local radio stations. Later that month, a new track called "Foxy" leaked, a song dubbed the "REAL return of the Fugees" by several online MP3 blogs.
However, following the reunion tour, the album that was said to be in the works did not materialize and was postponed indefinitely as relationships between band members apparently deteriorated. In August 2007, Michel stated, "Before I work with Lauryn Hill again, you will have a better chance of seeing Osama Bin Laden and [George W.] Bush in Starbucks having a latte, discussing foreign policies, before there will be a Fugees reunion."[5] Meanwhile, in September 2007 an equally-outspoken Jean told Blues & Soul: "I feel the first issue that needs to be addressed is that Lauryn needs help... In my personal opinion, those Fugees reunion shows shouldn't have been done, because we wasn't ready. I really felt we shoulda first all gone into a room with Lauryn and a psychiatrist... But, you know, I do believe Lauryn can get help. And, once she does work things out, hopefully a proper and enduring Fugees reunion will happen."[6]
The concept of black empowerment has been a central part of The Fugees' message since their inception. Band members, collectively and individually, have often used their song lyrics and extra-musical activities to advocate for social change.
Their debut album Blunted on Reality did not contain as many lyrics with overtly politically messages as songs from The Score, but even in the earliest days of the band, there were political intentions. Wyclef Jean describes the meaning of the title of their first album in a 1990 interview on the television program Lorna’s Corner: “when the cop is messing around with somebody for something that the person didn’t do and they try to set ‘em up, that makes me blunted on reality. When the government is taking money on arms…and that money could be going back to the community it makes me blunted on reality. It’s just awareness of what’s going on…that’s what blunted on reality means…It don’t mean that I smoke weed…cause I’m too paranoid as it is.”[7]
The Score’s multi-platinum success allowed The Fugees to extend their activism beyond their lyrics. The group organized and performed in hip-hop charity festivals such as Harlem’s Hoodshock and used the proceeds to fund a not-for-profit summer camp for New Jersey youth. They also turned their recording studio, The Booga Basement, into a transitional house for young Haitian refugees trying to get settled in America.[4]
After the group split, Wyclef Jean co-founded and headed the Yele Haiti Foundation which is a non-profit organization “focusing on emergency relief, employment, youth development and education, and tree planting and agriculture” in Haiti.[8] Pras Michel starred in a documentary about homelessness in Los Angeles[9] and remained outspoken about Haitian politics.[10][11] Lauryn Hill continued recording and performing socially conscious music and went on to advocate for female empowerment especially within the music industry.[12][13]
| Year | Album details | Chart positions | Certifications | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
UK | CAN [14] |
|||
| 1994 | Blunted on Reality | — | 62 | — | — | |
| 1996 | The Score | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Year | Album details | Chart positions | Certifications | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
UK | CAN [14] |
|||
| 2003 | Greatest Hits | — | — | — | — | |
| Year | Album details | Chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
UK | ||
| 1996 | Bootleg Versions | 127 | 50 | 55 |
| Year | Title | Chart positions[18][19][20] | Certifications | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | US Rap | UK | CAN | ||||
| 1993 | "Boof Baf" | — | — | — | — | — | Blunted on Reality | |
| 1994 | "Nappy Heads (Remix)" | 49 | 52 | 12 | 172 | — | ||
| "Vocab" | 108A | 91 | 22 | — | — | |||
| 1996 | "Fu-Gee-La" | 29 | 13 | 2 | 21 | — |
|
The Score |
| "Killing Me Softly"B | 2 | 1 | — | 1 | 6 |
|
||
| "Ready or Not"B | 69 | 22 | — | 1 | — |
|
||
| "No Woman, No Cry"B (with Stephen Marley) | 38 | 58 | — | 2 | — | |||
| 1997 | "Rumble in the Jungle"B (feat. A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes & John Forté) | — | 71 | 3 | 3 | — | When We Were Kings OST | |
| 2005 | "Take It Easy" | 119A | 40 | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| Year | Song | Chart positions[18] | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. R&B | U.S. Rap | |||
| 1997 | "Hip-Hopera" (Bounty Killer feat. Fugees) | 81 | 54 | 14 | My Xperience |
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