477 - The Fugees - The Score

[csberry]

There are two very noteworthy aspects to The Score for me.

1. It was very different from the gangsta rap that dominated most of the 90's. Where Dre and others talked about malt liquors and 40's, The Fugees drop a mention of Guiness instead. Easy-E wasn't name-dropping Seal or quoting Corey Hart like the Fugees. The rhymes the Fugees provided weren't discussing drug dealing, as much as they discussed dealing with drugs and their effects on the community.

2. Lauryn Hill is an extremely talented singer and rapper that shines on every track she's on.

This album meshes the three personalities fairly well, although I personally have always quickly tired of Wyclef Jean. The amount of soul influences on the album were used to both soothe the listener and as an awkward counterpoint to some of the disturbing images in the rhymes. Tracks such as "Fu-Gee-La" and "The Mask" sound very much like Tribe Called Quest's better work.


Songs I knew I liked: "Killing Me Softly" and "No Woman, No Cry"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Ready or Not" and "Fu-Gee-La"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: The end of "The Beast" where there is a cringe-worthy skit about a Chinese restaurant, the "Fu-Gee-La" remixes at the end of the album, and "Mista Mista"

Comments

[cosmosmariner.livejournal.com]

Wow. A blast from my past! Back when Lauryn Hill wasn't batshit insane. "Ready or Not" was one of my main jams in high school.