On “How Many Mics,” Lauryn Hill spits about “ getting mad frustrated” when she rhymes because she thinks of “ all the kids who do this/ For all the wrong reasons.” It’s a thesis statement rapped by an educated, middle-class bred woman about a young urban man’s game. This translated to a relaxed, self-assured and innovative record that was rightly included among Rolling Stone’s Top 500 albums of all time.Īnchored by singles that are interpolated or outright cover songs (“Fu-Gee-La,” “Killing Me Softly,” “Ready or Not” and “No Woman, No Cry), cultural consciousness pervades each track of this sample-heavy album. The trio retreated to Wyclef’s uncle’s home, which they dubbed the Booga Basement, and recorded The Score at a leisurely pace over the course of several months. Despite this failure to break into the mainstream, Ruffhouse Records threw the Fugees a sizable advance to take another stab. The group’s 1994 debut, Blunted on Reality, established their sample-heavy and politically charged aesthetic. The Fugees were formed from a high school connection between Lauryn Hill and Pras Michel, along with his cousin Wyclef Jean. While the Roots, OutKast, A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul (featuring the emergence of Mos Def) would all put out records in ‘96, it was The Score that kept alternative hip hop vital enough in the mainstream to allow its reemergence as a driving force in the 2000s. Meanwhile, the Fugees’ rebounded from their fizzle of a debut with a superlative sophomore album. Presidential candidates railed against it, with pressure building to the point that Time Warner dropped Death Row Records’ parent Interscope. But back in 1996, gangsta rap threatened to overtake the entire genre. And the President of the United States lists the Fugees’ “Ready or Not” as his favorite song. A cartoon band enjoyed their stint as alternative hip hop’s biggest group. Jay-Z has been tamed by Beyoncé and good living. High-minded rappers like Kanye West have risen to the top. In the new millennium, gangsta rap has shriveled to a shell of its former self.
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