Fugees were an American hip-hop and R&B; outfit comprising of Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Hill (born May 26) and Pras Michel.
Their style combined elements of hip hop, soul and Caribbean music. Their name was derived from a shortening of the word "refugees".
Their first hit "Fu-gee-la" sampled Teena Marie's "Ooo La La La". Their biggest hit was "Killing me softly", which was originally sung by Lori Leiberman (not Roberta Flack who first had a hit with it).
"Ready or not" sampled Enya's album track "Boadicea". They covered Bob Marley's "No woman no cry". They collaborated with a Tribe called Quest, Busta Rhymes and Forte on "Rumble in the Jungle" that sampled Abba's "Name of the game" and was featured on the soundtrack to the film, "When we were kings".
Individually, they all had chart success in their own right. Lauryn Hill's solo ablum "The miseducation of..." was US#1 and UK#2 and spawned top 5 hits "Doo Wap (That Thing)" and "Ex-Factor". Pras Michel had a big hit with "Ghetto Superstar (That is what you are)" with ODB and Mya, which made #1 on the Canada Dance chart. Wasn't sure why Warren Beattie was on the cover but turns "Ghetto Superstar" was on the soundtrack for his 1998 satirical movie "Bulworth". Wyclef had a top 3 hit with "Gone til November" in 1998.
Date UK Song Apr 1996 21 Fu-Gee-La Jun 1996 1 Killing Me Softly Sep 1996 1 Ready Or Not Nov 1996 2 No Woman No Cry Mar 1997 3 Rumble In The Jungle (featuring A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes and Forte)90 Hits for Lauryn Hill (Discography):
Date UK Song Sep 1997 18 The Sweetest Thing (Refugee Camp Allstars featuring Lauryn Hill) Oct 1998 3 Doo Wap (That Thing) Feb 1999 4 Ex-Factor Jul 1999 19 Everything Is Everything Dec 1999 15 Turn Your Lights Down Low (featured with Bob Marley)90 Hits for Pras Michel (Discography):
Date UK Song Jun 1998 2 Ghetto Superstar That Is What You Are (featuring ODB and Mya) Nov 1998 6 Blue Angels Nov 1998 5 Another One Bites The Dust (Queen with Wyclef featuring Pra Michel and Free)90 Hits for Wyclef Jean (Discography):
Date UK Song Jun 1997 13 We Trying To Stay Alive (with Refugee Allstars) Sep 1997 25 Guantanamera (with Refugee Allstars) May 1998 3 Gone Till November Oct 1999 23 New Day (featuring Bono)
What happened next?
Lauryn Hill recorded a studio version of her song, "Guarding the Gates", for the movie Queen & Slim which was released on November 27, 2019. She had been singing this song during live performances for several years prior to the recording for the movie. This song appears on the album, Queen & Slim: The Soundtrack.
Wyclef Jean had a few more hits in the 2000s as he collaborated with Mary J Blige on "911" and the Rock Dwayne Johnson on "It doesn't matter". Both were top 10 hits in the UK. He was a guest duet (with Naughty Boy) helping Rak-Su to win X-Factor in 2017. On March 8, 2019, Wyclef released his ninth studio album, Wyclef Goes Back to School Volume 1.
In 2015, Pras Michel completed a documentary, Sweet Micky For President, which chronicles the rise of Haitian musician Michel Martelly, through his election to fight corruption as President of Haiti, an election campaign that was strongly endorsed by Pras. The film had its World premiere at the 2015 Slamdance Film Festival.
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