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That same year, the trio comprisingWyclef Jean,Pras Michel, andMs.
Lauryn HillreleasedThe Score, their second album and an unlikely rap classic.
Nods to 70s soul and reggae flanked slick R&B and gritty raps.
Then, internal tensions set in.
By 1998, the members had all gone solo.
They reconvened for a few dates in the mid-2000s, and that was it until Global Citizen this September.
People were dying because it was so hot.
We were really broke at that time.
So we had the air conditioner in the basement.
It blew cool air when its cold outside.
When its hot out, it blows hot air.
Psychologically, it still feels like its cooler.
I just remember this hot ass air.
It was just kind of the way she was hearing the harmonies.
We were playing back Roberta Flacks album.
[Ms. Hill] was like, Oh, shes doing this key right here.
Let me go back and do that.
And shed go back and do it.
Thats how she stacked the harmonies.
Yo, it was like poetry in motion.
Its like a million memories I got.
The basement was moments, man, that could never be recaptured.
Just a bunch of kids leaving college, leaving home.
Lets have a dream, man.
Just believe, yo.
This going to be it, not knowing whatitis.
We just believed that somehow we were going to succeed.
It was just a great moment with everybody that was coming in Snoop, Pac, Biggie.
We was like, Yo, we want to be in that mix.
OnBlunted, we were trying to be like what was out there.
Then we were like, We going to be ourselves.
Were Caribbean, Haitian, Brooklyn.
That rice and beans, plantains, machetes.
Were coming with that vibe.
Then you got that soul-singing beautiful Motown, Ms. Hill.
Lets go, this is the mash-up.
Thats where Fu-Gee-La came from.
We came up in an era where artists had more creative direction over the product.
Because it was new, it was experimental.
Ruffhouse [Records], Columbia, they had the GOATs; they had Kriss Kross, Cypress Hill.
Remember that whole Fu-Shnickens, Leaders Of New School, thatrah rah?
[Nass 1994 debut]Illmaticslowed everything down.
We dropped right before that, and we got caught in the storm.
But the label was like, We dont really give a fuck.
Yall need to go figure this thing out.
Take your ass on the road.
So we started to really find our identity on the road.
Thats how we became this band.
You might have something here.
Biggest reason for reuniting
Ms. Hill reached out, and she said, Its the 25th anniversary.
She first reached out to, I think, Wyclef and then my boy, Jerry Wonda.
Hes like the fourth, hidden Fugee.
He reached out to me: Listen, were trying to get the band back.
How you feel about it?
I was like, Lets see what it is.
So shes the one that initiated this whole thing.
We were supposed to go to Africa to do the show, but there were last-minute logistical issues.
So Global Citizen was gracious enough to put it together.
They are one of the most incredible organizations Ive ever dealt with.
Within days, they put the whole Pier 17 show together, which was amazing.
It wasnt so much about coming back to [announce a tour].
It was about doing something for Global Citizen.
This was dear to Ms. Hills heart.
I thought it was crazy because I only rehearsed one time with them.
It was the day before the actual show.
But it all came together somehow.
I guess the end result is what really matters.
As we got toward the end of the show, it became easier.
We hadnt performed together in 16 years.
[But as far as any post-tour plans for the group], Im just going to be transparent.
Its one of them things, man.
It can go either way.
So we just gotta hope for the best.
Thats the direction things are going right now.
Im just going along calmly watching from afar.
Essentialness of live instruments to the Fugees sound
Clef and I grew up in the church.
It added to the character of group.
Wu-Tang had a sound.
Snoop had a sound.
Dre had a sound.
Busta Rhymes had a sound.
Da Brat had a sound.
Bro, everybody had their own unique sound, and it was just dope.
But todays a little bit different.
Now, its trap.
Its what you put on top of it is what makes a difference.
But in the 90s, everybody had an individual sound.
So the live, instrumental side of us gave us a different, unique sound …
Even though the Roots were a live band.
They were a band, and we were a band, but it was still two different sounds.
They had that Philly sound.
We had that New York, New Jersey sound.
That made us our own individuals.
Favorite Fugees song
Ready or Not.
Its an underdog song.
When we came out,The Sourceplayed us out.
WhatThe Scoremeant is we were settling a score.
And so Ready or Not was like, We coming for yall motherfuckers.
Its just that anthem.
Its a silent killer, like a gas leak.
You want to smell it, but its killing you.
Its that kind of anthem.
The way that Enya sound comes in, man, its coming through your veins.
And then Ms. Hill comes with the hook.Oh my God.Something about that … it just does something to me.
My guy Marcus Nispel, great, great director.
It was just epic.
It was just a lot going on.
It was the first million-dollar video.
We shot it in the back of Universal Studios.
I havent thought about this in forever.
Number of mics hed giveThe Source
At one point,The Sourcewas the Bible for hip-hop.
Its so funny how we look for validation that really means nothing at the end of the day.
But back then, we wanted our five mics.
They were sayingBluntedwasnt up to par and all that.
Then, they were like, Oh my God,The Score.
But they were such haters they still only gave us four and a half mics.
They wouldnt give us the five.
But hey, were here, andThe Sourceis basically nonexistent.
Who got the last laugh?
First time hearing the Fugees on the radio
Funkmaster Flex played the Nappy Heads remix.
At first it was just instrumental they would be playing.
Then one day, maybe a couple of weeks later, he started playing the vocals.
[Hums the sample of Santas Birthday from Nappy Heads - Remix].
I remember we were in the car and heard him.
I dont care who you are.
Its like you got a cape on.
you’re free to fly to the moon like Superman.
Its that feeling of jubilation.
Like,Wow.I made it.
Most memorable Hoodstock 1996 moment
[We played] with Biggie and Wu-Tang.
You dont say that to the crowd on the mic, right?
All hell broke loose from that point.
It was New York City.
It was that vibe.
And then somebodys like, Yo, I think he got a gun.
You dont say that with a bunch of Black people, man.
I just kind of, like, did it and put it out there.
The single was rejected by Sony at first.
Then we put it on theBulworthsoundtrack and followed up with an album.
But Ghetto Supastar came out of it.
Ol Dirty Bastard, God rest his soul, was incredible.
That process was incredible.
He was not supposed to be on the record.
He came into the wrong studio, the wrong session in the wrong state.
I was writing Ghetto Supastar.
He was so high that he thought I was in his session.
It was in California, but he thought we were in New York.
It was a bit intense.
His people were like What yall doing in our session?
We went back and forth.
Once that calmed down, the music was playing in the background, the instrumental.
As he about to leave, hes like, Whats that beat?
Oh, no, thats something Im working on, dog.
He said, Yeah.
Then, he says, Let me get on that.
He didnt even hear the hook or nothing.
To kind of, like, get him out of there, we recorded him.
We were going to erase it.
We figured it would be trash anyway.
Thats how it came about.
You had Latifah in Irvington.
You had Naughty by Nature in East Orange.
I had Redman down the street from me.
He went to West Side High School down in Newark.
You had the Poor Righteous Teachers in South Jersey.
You had Lords of the Underground.
You had Channel Live.
So at that time, there was a lot of different hip-hop in that area.
Obviously, Latifah went to do her thing.
We went out, and we came out big, and Redman really did his thing.
That was in the 90s, man.
There were a lot of vibes going on in New Jersey at that time.It was Jerseys moment.
Thats the best way I can explain it.
Its not easy, but it has some fun moments to it.
They were like two gods.
Its good to be among them.
When its just about the music and vibes, theres something spiritual about it.
