Fugees BLUNTED ON REALITY

Fugees (Tranzlator Crew): Wyclef, Lauryn (rap vocals); Prakazrel (rap vocals, guitar, bass). Additional personnel: Levi, Mad Spider (vocals); Larry Stokes (guitar); Khalis Bayyan (saxophone, keyboards); Rashad Muhammad (bass, programming); Derrick Darling (drums); DJ Boy Wonder (scratches); Deejay Doc 4 (programming). Producers include: Rashad Muhammad, Le Jam Productions, Inc., Brand X, Wyclef, Prakazrel, Khalis Bayyan. Recorded at House of Music, Inc., West Orange, New Jersey. Two years before their platinum-selling breakthrough, THE SCORE, the New Jersey trio also known as the Tranzlator Crew hit the scene with 18 decidedly harder boom-bap tracks built on high-energy shout raps. On bass-heavy and fevered drum-fueled cuts like "Nappy Heads," "Recharge," and "How Hard Is It?" Wyclef, Lauryn, and Pras let loose frantic tag-team flows reminiscent of early-'90s crews like Fu-Schnickens and Leaders of the New School, while the laidback, acoustic guitar-driven beat of "Vocab" and the dancehall-infused "Temple" would give inklings of the group's later direction.

• Released: 11/11/2016
• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Pop