The Fugees are an American music group, popular during the mid-1990s, whose repertoire includes primarily hip hop, with elements of soul, and Caribbean music (particularly reggae). The members of the group are leader/rapper/producer Wyclef Jean, rapper/singer Lauryn Hill, and rapper Pras Michel. Both Jean and Michel are of Haitian heritage; Hill is an African American native of South Orange, New Jersey. Deriving their name from the term "refugee", the group is noted for the integration of soul and reggae into their work, and recorded two albums—one of which, The Score, was a multi-platinum and Grammy-winning success—before going their separate ways after 1997. Hill and Jean each went on to successful solo recording careers, while Michel focused mainly on soundtrack recordings and acting.

History

---

The trio released their first LP, Blunted on Reality that spawned two underground hits "Nappy Heads" (Mona Lisa) and "Vocab", but the album failed to live up the expectations of fans who attended their concerts. Despite the relative failure of their first album, The Score became one of the biggest hits of 1996. The Fugees were known for their unusual choice of covers and sampling sources on both albums; The Score, for example, included reinterpretations of "No Woman No Cry" (Bob Marley & the Wailers) and "Killing Me Softly (With His Song)" (Roberta Flack), which was their biggest pop hit. The album also included a re-interpretation of The Delfonics' "Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide From Love)" in their hit single "Ready or Not" which used a sample from Boadicea by Enya without her permission. This prompted a lawsuit resulting in a settlement where Enya was given credit and royalties for her sample. The Fugees have continuously thanked and praised Enya for her deep understanding of the situation, for example in the booklet for the album "The Score". The Fugees won two 1997 Grammy Awards: The Score won for Best Rap Album, and "Killing Me Softly With His Song" won for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. After 1997, the Fugees all began solo projects. Hill started work on her critically acclaimed The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Jean began producing for a number of artists (including Canibus, Destiny's Child and Carlos Santana) and recorded his debut album The Carnival. Michel, with Mya and Ol' Dirty Bastard, recorded the single "Ghetto Supastar" for the soundtrack to the Warren Beatty/Halle Berry film Bulworth. After each member found success in other ventures, the Fugees failed to reform. Though the Fugees remained tight-lipped about the exact reasons, most fans believed that a serious personality conflict between Hill and Jean contributed to the breakup following The Score.

Incarcerated rapper John Forté also performed with the Fugees and Wyclef Jean, even being the co-writer/producer on two of the tracks off of The Score.

More on [ The Fugees ]

epic records news

MUDVAYNE SLAM RADIO WITH THEIR FASTEST-RISING SINGLE YET
Fri, 26 Sep 2008 23:35:02 -0000
"DO WHAT YOU DO" IS #1 MOST ADDED AT ACTIVE ROCK AND #2 MOST ADDED AT MODERN ROCK BAND OPENS UP TICKET SALES AT ALL OUTLETS (Monday, September 29) AND PARTNERS WITH BESTBUY TO ADD A FREE LIVE WEBCAST OF THEIR CONCERT TO FAN CLUB MEMBERS MUDVAYNE--one of the most creative and distinctive bands in the aggressive music world with sales exceeding 5 million units worldwide--have slammed onto the charts with "Do What You Do," the fastest-rising single of their career. Garnering over 75 radio adds out of the box--in the first 36 hours the track became available this week--the song is #1 most added at the Active Rock chart and #2 most added at Modern Rock.  As the band prepare to release THE NEW GAME--their first studio album in three years, due out November 18 via Epic Records--the band is working even harder to get the best possible deal directly to their fans in light of the tough economy by opening up ticket sales of their upcoming tour to all outlets and partnering with Best Buy to add a free live web cast of their concert to fan club members who pre-order the album at bestbuy.com/mudvayne.  "We want fans that cannot afford to see us live or that live outside our tour markets to still get the benefits of our ‘The Album Is The TicketTM' program," says singer Chad Gray, "and by adding the live webcast and releasing ticket sales to the general public, we are now able to offer fans even more value and options for their money in this rough financial time." The concert webcast will be from one of the tour stops (TBA) on the first leg of "The New Game Tour 2008."  Meanwhile, all tickets will be released at all outlets by Monday, September 29th. All current ‘The Album Is The Ticket' members are entitled to a free meet & greet at their selected show. The current dates for "The New Game Tour 2008" are as follows.  Note: All dates subject to change. DATE            CITY                VENUE Tue    10/28        El Paso, TX            El Paso County Coliseum Thu    10/30        Corpus Christi, TX        The Pavilion At Concrete Fri    10/31        Grand Prairie, TX        Nokia Live Sat    11/1        San Antonio, TX        Sunset Station Mon    11/3        Houston, TX            Warehouse Live Wed    11/5        Tulsa, OK            Cain's Ballroom Fri    11/7        Oklahoma City, OK        Bricktown Events Center Sat    11/8        Albuquerque, NM        Albuquerque Convention Center Sun    11/9        Tempe, AZ            The Marquee Theatre Tue    11/11        Hollywood, CA        Palladium Wed    11/12        Las Vegas, NV        The Joint Fri    11/14        San Francisco, CA        The Grand Ballroom Sat    11/15        Portland, OR            Roseland Theatre Mon    11/17        Seattle, WA            Showbox SoDo Wed    11/19        Spokane, WA            The Knitting Factory Concert Hall Fri    11/21        Denver, CO            The Fillmore Auditorium Sat    11/22        Kansas City, MO        Uptown Theatre Mon    11/24        Wichita, KS            The Cotillion Tue    11/25        St Louis, MO            The Pageant Wed    11/26        East Peoria, IL        East Peoria Event Center Fri    11/28        Des Moines, IA        Val Air Ballroom Sat    11/29        Maplewood, MN        The Myth Mon    12/1        Milwaukee, WI            The Eagles Ballroom Tue    12/2        Chicago, IL            The Congress Theater Fri    12/5        Detroit, MI            The Fillmore Detroit Sat    12/6        Grand Rapids, MI        The Orbit Room Mon    12/8        Cincinnati, OH            Bogart's Tue    12/9        Columbus, OH        LC Pavilion Thu    12/11        Baltimore, MD            Rams Head Live! Fri    12/12        Philadelphia, PA        The Electric Factory Sat    12/13        Worcester, MA        The Palladium Tue    12/16        New York, NY            Roseland Ballroom Wed    12/17        Norfolk, VA            The Norva Fri    12/19        Atlanta, GA            Tabernacle Sat    12/20        Lake Buena Vista, FL        House of Blues
You Oughta Know Lenka!
Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:08:00 -0000
Lenka is VH1's newest You Oughta Know artist! For one week, listen to a preview of Lenka's debut album, Lenka, on VH1's The Leak.
Get Mudvayne's New Single, "Do What You Do"
Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:03:48 -0000
Download / stream at: iTunes | Rhapsody | Napster | Zune

Subscribe to Bands_and_Artists RSS feed