After the relatively obscure release of their debut album in 1994, The Fugees returned two years later to critical acclaim with “The Score”. This release was impeccable in its timing as the environment was perfect for the type of socially conscious lyrics and stylistic experimentation the trio displayed with their hip hop fusion of reggae, jazz and R&B influences. The unique combination of rap balladry and vicious battle rap skills are two things that made The Score particularly special. Not only was this album a hip hop classic of the most superior quality, it is also considered one of the best albums of all time.

While the cover of Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly” was perhaps the biggest hit of the album, The Score is a complete package from its simultaneously clean yet raw production, to the harmonious union of Prakazell (Pras), Wyclef Jean (Clef), and Lauren Hill (L- Boogie). The ballads make the album play out like a series of film sorts, slightly belabored and thrown off kilter by the overkill of skits and interludes.

Every song strong in its own right, the obvious favorites might be “Fu-Gee-La” and the covers of “Killing Me Softly” and “No Woman, No Cry,” but my favorite is “Manifest.” This group manifesto opens with a DJ scratched sample loop declaration, “before I manifest the rhyme, I-I-I…I manifest.” Driven by the guitar (probably played by Wyclef) overlay that builds to a climax and decline, this song contains three harrowing accounts; one of betrayal, another of sick, blind, bitter love and the last of paranoia.

My circle it can’t be broken
Open, cut-throatin’, provokin’
Record promotin, tokens chokin’ on they words like smoke and;
‘Cause we soft spoken, doesn’t mean that we’ve forgotten
Your bootie smells rotten and one day you will be gotten.
See joker’s is scatter-brained, their focus is unrestrained
My army is trained, you never find us beefin’ in vain.
Cause I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain
You claim fame, while modest niggas remain.

- Family Business

Painful though it may have been, Lauren Hill was widely recognized as the best emcee of the group. In “Zealots” Clef laments bitterly that the critics elevated and set Lauren apart, recognizing her as the star of the group. “The Magazine says girl should’a went solo/the guys should stop rapping/vanish like Menudo.” Perhaps overly harsh, the truth was that Lauren’s flows were fluid and her verses the most memorable on almost every song. Her raw alto vocals on “Fu-Gee-La” and “Ready Or Not,” her ability to vacillate between singing and rapping on songs like “How Many Mics,” and flawless timing and delivery made Lauren Hill an instant star.

You can’t search me without probable cause
Or that proper ammunition they call reasonable suspicion
Listen I bring friction to your whole jurisdiction
You planted seeds in my seat when I wasn’t lookin.
Now you ask me for my license/registration
“WHERE THE FUCK” do I work?
“WHAT THE FUCK” is my occupation?
Well I’m an MC, I’m down with the Fugees
Mother Mary caught a flashback like Rodney now the cops got Lolly.

- Beast

Truthfully, the each member brought individual skills to the table; Pras with his abstract and slightly spastic style and production expertise – uncharacteristically slick for the time, Clef with his artistic flair and reggae tendencies, and Lauren with her lyrical prowess, there is no denying the fact that The Fugees were a match made for hip hop and The Score a timeless LP and quintessential hip hop of the ‘90s.

This article is cross-posted to Newsvine Music: Listen In.

© Kimberlee Morrison for Listen In. Some rights reserved.

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