Fugees
The Score
1996, Ruffhouse
There's a lot of talk about the Golden Age of hip hop, though the definition of the era is loose (it's generally agreed to span sometime in the 80's to sometime in the 90's). In my view of the musical landscape, THE SCORE which was released in early 1996 pretty much signaled the end of the era. It was a record that garnered so much buzz (from both Under- and Over-ground) that it seemed a Creation that resulted in Destruction. To put the release date of this album into context, within the next 13 months both 2Pac and Biggie would be dead. And the Fugees would have imploded.
The buzz that led up to the release of THE SCORE was hard to explain. A lot of underground hip hop fans knew their first album, BLUNTED ON REALITY. But the record had failed to really gain a large audience. And critics pretty much hated it. But before the record was released, it seemed everyone was into the Fugees. And when the final product hit the shelves, it was instantly undertandable. This album was full of intellegent wordplay, catchy choruses, interesting samples (Enya!), live instruments, ballads, posse cuts, ridiculous skits, and pretty much everything else you could fit into one rap tape. It was an epic work that appealed to music geeks and thugs alike. As Lauryn Hill summed up in "Zealots," "...and even after all my logic and my theory / I'll add a motherfucka so you ignant n___'s hear me."
After it's release there would be rumors of Lauryn Hill being shot in the face. Beefs both real and maybe not real between Jeru The Damaja (who now?) and Wu-Tang Clan. And lots of other drama which would lead to splintered trio we now know. Wyclef, though a great songwriter has made a ton of messes called albums. Lauryn went crazy. And Praz. Well he made that song for the movie Bullworth. It was obvious in 1996 that the group was greater than the sum of its parts. And even more obvious now. Sigh.