The Score (1996)

The Score is the second and final studio album by American hip-hop group Fugees, released worldwide on February 13, 1996, by 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- to late-1990s. Primarily, The Score's production was handled by the Fugees themselves, Jerry Duplessis and Warren Riker, with additional production from Salaam Remi, John Forté, Diamond D, and Shawn King. The album's guest verses are from Outsidaz members Rah Digga, Young Zee, and Pacewon, as well as 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 its release, The Score was a commercial success, peaking atop the U.S. Billboard 200. It also topped the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart for eight weeks, becoming the longest running number one for a hip-hop group, and topped the 1996 year-end chart. The singles "Killing Me Softly", "Fu-Gee-La", and "Ready or Not" also achieved notable chart success, leading the album to become the third best selling album of 1996 in the United States, and helping the group achieve worldwide recognition.

The album received critical acclaim. It received a nomination for Album of the Year at the 39th Grammy Awards, becoming the second rap album after MC Hammer's Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em to receive a nomination in the category, and the first from a hip-hop group; and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, along with Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Killing Me Softly". In retrospect, The Score 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. The Score was included on the list of 200 Definitive Albums in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and was ranked number 134 on Rolling Stone's revised list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (2020).

As of February 2021, The Score has been certified seven times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It is the best-selling album by an American hip-hop act in France, where the album has been certified Diamond. With an estimated 22 million copies sold worldwide, the album has become one of the best-selling albums of all time, at the time of its release it briefly became the best-selling hip-hop album of all time, and remains the best-selling album by a hip-hop group. As of June 2021, the album is the fifth-most streamed 1990s hip-hop album on Spotify.

Background

Although the Fugees' previous album, Blunted on Reality proved to be critically and commercially unsuccessful, Chris Schwartz, the head of Ruffhouse Records, decided to give the group another chance. In early 1995, he gave them a $135,000 advance and granted them complete artistic control for a follow-up album. The group used the money for recording equipment and set up a studio in Wyclef Jean's uncle's basement, which they referred to as the Booga Basement.

Recording for the album began in June 1995, and extended into November 1995 at what Jean described as a "relaxed pace ... It was done calmly, almost unconsciously. There wasn't any pressure—it was like 'let's make some music', and it just started forming into something amazing. It sounded like a feel-good hip-hop record to us, and it was different than what anyone was doing at the time. It was three kids from an urban background expressing themselves."

In regard to The Score's unified themes and production, Lauryn Hill commented: "It's an audio film. It's like how radio was back in the 1940s. It tells a story, and there are cuts and breaks in the music. It's almost like a hip-hop version of Tommy, like what The Who did for rock music."

Music

The Score was produced by a variety of producers including each member of the Fugees, as well as Diamond D, Salaam Remi, and Jerry Duplessis. Although most tracks are built on sampled melodies, live instrumentation and DJing are incorporated into multiple tracks. Wyclef Jean plays the guitar on "Family Business", while DJ Skribble scratches on "Manifest/Outro". Nevertheless, samples are the predominant production tool on The Score. "Fu-Gee-La" incorporates a sample of Teena Marie's "Ooo La La La", and is interpolated in the song's chorus. "Ready or Not" also contains a sample that is interpolated; "Ready or Not (Here I Come)" by the Delfonics. "Manifest/Outro" contains a sample from "Rock Dis Funky Joint" by Poor Righteous Teachers, while the title track, "The Score" contains vocal samples from every track on the entire album.