Every once in a while a group will come along in music that will deliver something completely unexpected, lightyears away from anything that was released at the time. Then of course, the unexpected happens, and the group will split up after releasing an incredibly brilliant album and the members will fade into obscurity or at least never attain the same credibility and props that they had when they were together due to the chemistry of the members. In hip-hop, this happens often, however typically one member of the group will move on and have success (usually the most talented), while the others dissapeared. However, one group in hip-hop, no matter how hard they try separately, will NEVER EVER attain an equal amount of dopeness than The Fugees on their sophomore album The Score. VERY unlike their debut Blunted on Reality, The Score is a classic in every sense of the word and an album in which I truly believe EVERY single hip-hop fan, no matter what genre or style you listen to, has to have a copy of. Their incredible mixture of Hip-Hop, R&B, Reggae, and Soul combined to craft an album in which NO other album could possibly sound like or even come close to resembling its sound. It is that very fact that makes the album so unique. The Trio of Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Hill, and Pras come together to deliver something extraordinary, which can never be imitated ever again...



Track List & Rating

1. Red Intro (NOT RATED)
2. How Many Mics (*****)
3. Ready or Not (******)
4. Zealots (****)
5. The Beast (*****)
6. Fu-Gee-La (******)
7. Family Business (*****)
8. Killing Me Softly (******)
9. The Score (******)
10. The Mask (*****)
11. Cowboys f/ Outsidaz (****)
12. No Woman, No Cry (*****)
13. Manifest (******)
14. Fu-Gee-La Refugee Camp Remix f/ Forte (*****)
15. Fu-Gee-La Sly & Robbie Remix f/ Forte (****)
16. Mista Mista (*****)



DJ Red Alert opens up the album with a spoken word intro which leads into a beautiful beat and some words from The Fugees themselves. This leads right into "How Many Mics", the opening joint from The Score. Wyclef, L-Boogie, and Praswell basically spit braggadiocio rhyming about their skills and such to open the album up and basically act as an introduction. The pounding drums, bass, and assorted synthesized flutes give the song a funkish, halfway reggae feel while the three emcees kill the track with dope lyrics. Just the opening song itself provides a unique, laid-back sound reminiscent of Outkast or The Pharcyde, only with a reggae-ish twist. Definitely unique.

"Ready or Not" is the first of three singles found on The Score. Just production-wise, the song is brilliant. The soft, echoing flutes (which Puffy recently samples for the overly idiotic Mario Winans single "I Don't Wanna Know"), combined wiht a melodic backdrop, a simple drum clap and very light, almost invisible bass. Immediately from on the onset, L-Boogie drops one of her most memorable and haunting choruses in the history of her career ("Ready or not, Here I come, You can't hide... Gonna find you, and take it slowly"). For the first time on the album (though definitely not the last), Lauryn Hill shows off her extraordinary singing skills. However, the truly extraordinary thing about Lauryn is her amazing ability to write incredible lyrics and music, and its her rhyming and charisma that truly steals the show: "yo, I play my enemies like a game of chess, where I rest no stress if you don't smoke cess, less, i must confess my destiny's manifest, to some gortex and sweats I make tracks like i'm homeless, Rap orgies with Porgie and Bess, capture your bounty like Eliot Ness YES!". Besides just L-Boogie, everybody drops ill rhymes over the memorable beat.

The Fugees soon prove that they are much more than just a one-dimensional hip-hop group who raps about the same thing over and over again. The Fugees are one of the most versatile and creative groups in hip-hop, and they prove it on "The Beast".

It's quite surprising to find an aggressive political song from a group which specialized in laid-back, relaxing, and thought-provoking music. On this joint, which is mainly covered by 'Clef and Lauryn, the Fugees spit lyrics about the corruption found in the government, from the police department, to the I.R.S., to the military and everything in between. Lyrically, this song excells over many others due to their use of multi-syllable flows and complex vocabulary words, as well as some humorous metaphors. Once again, I HAVE to stress the skills of these three, and once again, Lauryn gets the quotable: "Conflicts with night sticks, Illegal sales districts, Hand-picked lunatics, keep poli-TRICK-cians rich, Heretics push narcotics amidst its risks and frisks, Cool cliques throw bricks but seldom hit targets, Private-DIC sell hits, like porno-flicks do chicks, The 666 cut W.I.C. like Newt Gingrich SUCKS DICK".

"Fu-Gee-La" comes on next, and is yet another single, and I believe the second of three singles, but I am not sure. This is one of my favorite songs on the entire album do to its upbeat and powerful feel. The song is the bonafied perfect hip-hop / reggae mix, giving it a VERY unique feel and explosive atmosphere. Salaam Remi mans the boards on this joint, using a beautiful bassline, mixed with some minimalistic, yet unbelievably melodic keyboard layers and a fun drum / clap mix which makes this beat one of the most original, fun, and head-nodding beats that I have heard in my tenure in listening to hip-hop music. The pounding and energetic feel of the beat perfectly compliments the vocals by all three members of the group, and Lauryn's incredibly powerful chorus soars high. Besides that, they all drop ill verses, but I do believe that I read somewhere that Young Zee from the Outsidaz ghostwrote Pras' verse, and I wouldn't doubt it either due to the sheer delivery and unique feel of the lyrics. Wyclef opens and closes the song, and L-Boogie's middle verse is incredible. The forthcoming remixes pale in comparison to the original classic hip-hop song.

After the excellent and introspective "Family Business", The L-Boogie solo "Killin Me Softly" soon appears on the tracklist and you have your third single, and arguably the biggest hit any of the Fugees have ever had.

For those who don't know, this is a remake of a Roberta Flack classic song with the same name, and an altered beat by 'Clef. Beatwise, the song is beautiful which basically uses some thumping bass, a simple drum loop and clap, but soon enters new dimensions when the chorus part, adding some smooth violins, but staying low enough that the ENTIRE melody of the song is seemingly carried by Lauryn Hill, and that is a feat only really good singers can accomplish. Lauryn completely rips apart the song with her energetic, powerful, and emotional delivery within the vocals, as well as the true skill of the lyrics themselves. I am completely positive that everybody can like this song seeing as how it stretches lightyears away from the hip-hop border, and crosses into waters beyond those few songs can achieve. If you choose not to pick this up (like an idiot), then at LEAST download this.

"The Mask" finds The Fugees getting retrospective with some slight socio-political underlining messages. The song is a soft, jazzy type of track complete with catchy saxophones and horns, as well as deep bass and drums. However, it's the lyrics that really present the track for what it is: retrospective poetry about the hardships suffered by each member of the Fugees, as they all get a chance to storytell on here. Pras, Clef, and Lauryn do a damn good job on the verses, and Clef and Lauryn provide an excellent and catchy chorus which I believe is worthy of radio play. I'm sure everybody can relate to at least something in this song, but Wyclef has the verse to which I can relate to most: "I used to work at Burger King, a king taking orders, Punching my clock now I'm wanted by the manager, Soupin me up sayin 'Your a nice worker, How would you like a quarter raise, move up the register', 'Large in charge, but cha gotta be my spy, Come back and tell me who's baggin my fries, Getting high on company time', Hell no sirree, wrong emcee, Why should I be a spy, when you spying me? And you see whatcha thought ya saw but never seen.".

Plain and Simple, "No Woman, No Cry" IS reggae and shows exactly what I have been praising about the Fugees since the start of this review. This is a solo Wyclef song and about as far-out from hip-hop as possible, but that doesn't mean its a bad thing, now does it? Wyclef decides to do a beautiful remake the classic Bob Marley song with the same title (sound familiar?) and put it on the album. Clef's skillful use of guitar playing is shown here, as well as his singing skills as his VERY notable voice is ideal for reggae and used perfectly on this song. The song's lyrics aren't identical to the original, but much more personal, which is something you've got to respect.

"Manifest" is one of the more personal songs on the album. You can forget all of the catchy choruses and pseudo-singing here, because this song is about one thing: unleashing your emotions on the song. I can truly say that this song will touch you, as it's instantly one of my favorites on here (even though I love every single song here). Everybody on this entire song is basically spilling their guts, and you can tell by how they raise their voices and get incredibly energetic as if they were preaching or spitting spoken word poetry; it truly MUST be listened to. Clef comes on the song first, spitting about growing up in poverty and struggling to make a single dollar; he really feels it here. Pras shows up at the end of the song with the final verse, aimed more towards his lyrical skills, showing a different version of "manifesting".

However, I must truly say that the person who conquers the song completely has to be Lauryn Hill, with her second verse about a failed relationship, which is one of the best verses that I have heard her... or ANYBODY, spit in their entire career. Instead of talking about how beautiful the lyrics are and how energetic she is on the song, I'll let you read what she says: "You see I loved hard once, but the love wasn't returned, I found out the man I'd die for, he wasn't even concerned, And time it turned, He tried to burn me like a perm, Though my eyes saw the deception, My heart wouldn't let me learn, From um, some, dumb woman, was I, and everytime he'd lie, he would cry and inside I'd die, my heart must have died a thousand deaths, compared myself to Toni Braxton thought I'd never catch my breath, Nothing left, he stole the heart beating from my chest, I tried to call the cops, that type of thief you can't arrest, pain suppressed, will lead to cardiac arrest, diamonds deserve diamonds, but he convinced me I was worth less, when my peoples would protest, I told them mind their business, cause my sh*t was complex, More than just the sex, I was blessed, but couldn't feel it like when I was caressed, I'd spend nights clutching my breasts overwhelmed by God's test, I was God's best contemplating death with a Gillette, But no man is ever worth the paradise... MANIFEST"

After the two remix songs, "Mista Mista" unofficially closes the album with a Wyclef Reggae Solo. The song simply screams "Bob Marley", with its use of guitars and piano and its preaching and introspective nature, its hard not to instantly recognize this style of music. This song is just like spoken word poetry, only with a bit more of a melody.

After this, the album comes to an end and I have truly been satisfied.

When The Score was released in 1996, it truly seemed like this trio had a bright future ahead of them. However, only 2/3 of the group actually moved forward. Wyclef Jean nowadays is noted for his amazing production abilities and star-making qualities, and is still putting out consistent hits, but nothing close to matching his quality work on The Score. Lauryn Hill continued making music and donating money to charities and funds, reaching the peak of her solo career in 1998 when she dropped The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and winning numerous grammies and gaining a musical praise, representing hip-hop the fullest. Pras however, sank low, as his solo album Ghetto Superstar was a terrible album and had mediocre sales. He tried to act as well... and it went nowhere. This goes to prove that the legendary Fugees are truly excellent together, and The Score shows it. Whatever you do, do NOT sleep on this classic and get yourself a copy as soon as you possibly can...

5 Stars






SIMILAR ALBUMS:

NONE! There is arguably nothing quite like this...




Recommended: Yes

Write a Review