Fugees | The Score (LP)

The Score is the second and final studio album by the hip hop trio Fugees, released worldwide February 13, 1996 on Columbia Records. The album features a wide range of samples and instrumentation, with many aspects of alternative hip hop that would come to dominate the hip hop music scene in the mid-late 1990s. The Score's production was handled mostly by the Fugees themselves and Jerry Duplessis, with additional production from Salaam Remi, John Forté, Diamond D, and Shawn King. The album's guest raps are from Outsidaz' members Rah Digga, Young Zee and Pacewon, as well as Omega, John Forté, and Diamond D. Most versions of the album feature four bonus tracks, including three remixes of "Fu-Gee-La", and a short acoustic Wyclef Jean solo track entitled "Mista Mista." Upon it's release, The Score was a commercial success, peaking at the number one spot on both the Billboard 200, and the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart (it was a number-one album on the latter in 1996 on the year-end chart). The singles "Killing Me Softly, " "Fu-Gee-La, " and "Ready or Not" also achieved notable chart success, and helped the group achieve worldwide recognition. On October 3, 1997, The Score was certified six times platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In addition to receiving mostly favorable reviews upon it's release, the album has garnered a considerable amount of acclaim over the years, with many music critics and publications noting it as one of the greatest albums of the 1990s, as well as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. In 1998, the album was included in The Source's 100 best rap albums list, and in 2003, it was ranked number 477 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Fugees (Refugee Camp): Lauryn Hill, Prakazrel "Pras," Wyclef. Additional personnel: Garfield "Gus" Parkinson (vocals); Red Alert, Ras Baraka (spoken vocals); Handel Tucker (keyboards); Robbie Shakespeare (bass); Sly Dunbar (drums, programming); John Forte (programming); Backspin (scratches); Forte, Omega, Diamond D, Pace 1, Young Zee, Ra Digga. Producers include: Wyclef, Shawn King, Lauryn Hill, Salaam Remi, John Forte. Recorded at The Booga Basement Studio, East Orange, New Jersey; The Crib and Quad Studios, New York, New York; Anchor Recording Studios, Kingston, Jamaica. THE SCORE won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, and "Killing Me Softly" won a 1997 Grammy for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. The album was also nominated for Album Of The Year. Fugees (Refugee Camp): Lauryn Hill, Prakazrel "Pras," Wyclef. Additional personnel includes: Garfield "Gus" Parkinson , Rah Digga, Forte, Omega, Red Alert, Ras Baraka (spoken vocals); Handel Tucker (keyboards); Robbie Shakespeare (bass); Sly Dunbar (drums, programming); John Forte (programming); DJ Skribble, Backspin (vinyl scratches). Producers include: Wyclef, Shawn King, Lauryn Hill, Salaam Remi, John Forte. Engineers include: Warren Riker, Gary "Mon" Noble, Wyclef. Recorded at Booga Basement, East Orange, New Jersey; The Crib, Quad, New York, New York; Anchor Studios, Kingston, Jamaica. Samples include "Ready Or Not, Here I Come" (Hart/Bell), "Ooh La La La" (as performed by Teena Marie) and "I Only Have Eyes For You" (Warren Dubin). THE SCORE won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, and "Killing Me Softly" won a 1997 Grammy for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. The album was also nominated for Album Of The Year. On their second album, the Fugees utilize a couple of the mid-'90s trends in hip-hop--cinematic construct and references to Asian fighting techniques. But THE SCORE transcends much of the genre's recent output, because it's as much about musicality as it is about beats. In fact, deep beats often take a back seat to tense, noir grooves. More importantly, all three rappers--Haitian males, Wyclef and Pras, and New Jerseyite female, Lauryn Hill--swing hard, syncopating around the beats like jazz instrumentalists, making THE SCORE a complex and challenging listen. THE SCORE also boasts some of the most intelligent, non-exclusionary rhymes in recent memory. Wyclef claims to "run through Crown Heights/Screaming out Mazel Tov" and Hill draws parallels between herself and both Nina Simone and Elliot Ness. Too politically astute and musically talented to fall into the ruts of rap cliches and dependence on overused samples, the Fugees are placing a significant, personalized stamp on the direction of hip-hop.


Tracklist

A1        Red Intro
A2        How Many Mics
A3        Ready Or Not
A4        Zealots
A5        The Beast
B1        Fu-Gee-La
B2        Family Business
B3        Killing Me Softly
C1        The Score
C2        The Mask
C3        Cowboys
D1        No Woman, No Cry
D2        Manifest / Outro

*Audio and/or tracklist may vary slightly from the vinyl version.

Label: SNYL
Rel. Date: 10/02/2012
UPC: 887654009111

• Genre: Rap/Hip Hop
• Format: Vinyl