The Fugees
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
No matter how pigeonholed the Fugees may have sounded on their debut, the group had obviously asserted their control by the time of their second album, The Score. With just as much intelligence as their jazz-rap forebears, the trio also worked with surprisingly straight-ahead R&B on the soulful Killing Me Softly With His Song, sung by Lauryn Hill. Elsewhere, Clef and Pras sampled doo wop and covered Bob Marleys No Woman No Cry, giving the record familiarity for the commercial mainstream, but keeping it real with insightful commentary on their urban surroundings. The Score became one of the surprise hits of 1996, reaching number one on the pop charts and making the Fugees one of the most visible ap groups around the world. During 1997, the crew played on the ~Smokin Grooves tour, and took time out while Hill gave birth to a child and Clef issued a solo album, The Carnival Featuring the Refugee Allstars. In 1998 Hill released her smash record The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and in 2000 Clef released his second solo disc, The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book. In turn, their solo success cast further doubt on another Fugees release.
