Artists & Bands

Fugees | Tunes + Guitar Lessons

Before they went solo, the Fugees changed the sound of hip hop with bold covers and genre-blending hits. Discover how one iconic album turned a trio into a global phenomenon!

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Fugees: One of the Most Successful Hip Hop Groups of All Time!

Formed just outside New York in South Orange, New Jersey, during the early ‘90s, Fugees were a Hip Hop trio consisting of Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras Michel.

Following their time together, all three members would go on to enjoy successful solo careers. But before that, they recorded two albums as a group.

Their debut, Blunted On Reality (1994), made some waves and is still regarded as a credible underground release. However, it didn’t produce any major hits. The standout track was Nappy Heads, which topped the U.S. Hot Dance chart.

Looking back, Blunted On Reality didn’t have much in the way of radio-friendly material, but it set the stage perfectly for their breakthrough second album, The Score (1996).

This is the album that features all the classic Fugees tunes—most of which are covers or sample-based, capturing the true essence of Hip Hop.

The first single, Fu-Gee-La, cleverly sampled If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don’t Wanna Be Right), Ooo La La, and Shakiyla (JRH). You’ll find all these tracks in the playlist above for reference.

Fu-Gee-La did well, selling over a million copies in the U.S., but it was their second single that truly catapulted them into global stardom.

Their cover of Roberta Flack’s Killing Me Softly With His Song (shortened to Killing Me Softly) became a worldwide phenomenon. It reached #1 in over twenty countries and became the best-selling single of all time in several of them.

It sold so well that the record label eventually pulled it from stores to make way for the next single—Ready or Not.

From Enya to Bob Marley: The Fugees’ Genre-Bending Legacy

Ready or Not was yet another clever mash-up, this time combining the haunting melody of Enya’s Boadicea with Ready Or Not Here I Come (Can’t Hide From Love) by the Delfonics.

While it didn’t reach the heights of Killing Me Softly, it still charted impressively around the world, further cementing the Fugees’ global fame.

The fourth and final single from The Score was a cover of Bob Marley’s No Woman, No Cry. Though it was the least successful single from the album—selling just 200,000 copies in the U.K.—this was likely because most fans had already bought the full album.

The Score went on to sell 22 million copies worldwide and is widely considered one of the greatest Hip Hop albums of all time.

Unfortunately, internal tensions eventually took their toll, and the trio disbanded to pursue solo careers.

Lauryn Hill found the greatest solo success with her 1998 album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. It included another soul classic—this time from fellow New Jersey natives Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

As with Killing Me Softly, Lauryn gave the track a subtle rebranding. Her version of Can’t Take My Eyes off You (often referred to by its hook, I Love You Baby) became another global hit.