They reconvened for a few dates in the mid-2000s, and that was it until Global Citizen this September. The hits - “Ready,” “Fu-Gee-La,” and covers of Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry” and Roberta Flack’s version of “Killing Me Softly With His Song” - pushed The Score to multiplatinum sales.
Nods to ’70s soul and reggae flanked slick R&B and gritty raps. The rest is history: The blend of Lauryn’s soulful vocals and perfect rhymes Clef’s tricky flows and guitar chops Pras’s pop and production smarts and assists from collaborators like New Jersey rap crew the Outsidaz, bassist and producer Jerry “Wonda” Duplessis, and dancehall geniuses Sly and Robbie bridged musical and cultural gaps. The first album - 1994’s Blunted on Reality, a promising batch of personable tunes lacking a certain polish - sold modestly, but a smooth remix of the high-energy single “Nappy Heads” by Queens producer Salaam Remi put the group on enough radars to earn another shot. Lauryn Hill released The Score, their second album and an unlikely rap classic. That same year, the trio comprising Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Ms. Last month, ’90s hip-hop legends the Fugees announced a surprise reunion tour, staging a tantalizing preview of it at Manhattan’s Pier 17 with an impossibly large band in tow, treating the audience to classics like “Ready or Not” and deep cuts like “Zealots.” They hadn’t played on the island in 25 years, not since Hoodstock, a 1996 show with Biggie and Wu-Tang Clan that ended in a stampede after mistaken reports of gunshots. Photo-Illustration: Vulture Photo by Lionel FLUSIN/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
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