Fugees | |
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Also known as | The Rap Translators, also later known as Tranzlator Crew, Refugee Camp |
Origin | South Orange, New Jersey, U.S. |
Genres | Hip hop, soul, reggae fusion |
Years active | 1989–1997, 2004–06 |
Labels | Ruffhouse/Columbia Records |
Website | www |
Past members |
Lauryn Hill Wyclef Jean Pras Michel |
Fugees /ˈfuːdʒiːz/ (sometimes The Fugees; formerly Tranzlator Crew) were an American hip hop group who rose to fame in the mid-1990s. Their repertoire included elements of hip hop, soul and Caribbean music, particularly reggae. The members of the group were rapper/singer/producer Wyclef Jean, rapper/singer/producer Lauryn Hill, and rapper/producer Pras Michel. Deriving their name from the term refugee, Jean and Michel are Haitian, while Hill is American.
The group recorded two albums—one of which, The Score (1996), was a multi-Platinum and Grammy-winning success and contains their hit single "Killing Me Softly"—before disbanding in 1997. Hill and Jean each went on to successful solo recording careers; Michel focused on soundtrack recordings and acting, though he found commercial success with his song "Ghetto Supastar". In 2007, MTV ranked them the 9th greatest Hip-hop group of all time.
Lauryn Hill and Pras first met at Columbia High School, in South Orange, New Jersey. Pras, Lauryn, and a mutual friend named Marcy formed a musical trio called Tyme; Pras' cousin, Wyclef Jean, joined the trio and Marcy left soon after in 1990. The moniker Tranzlator Crew refers to the name of their band at the time, which included Johnny Wise on drums, T Boss (Jerry) on bass guitar, and Leon (DJ). In 1993, after some gigs and recorded demos, the trio signed to Ruffhouse, distributed through Columbia Records. The trio's name was later changed to Fugees, which was purposely taken from a word often used derogatorily to refer to Haitian-Americans (refugee). Refugee Camp, while a name sometimes credited to the trio, also refers to a number of artists affiliated with them, and particularly Jean.