Fugees

Fugees is an American hip-hop group from South Orange, New Jersey. Formed in 1993, the group was particularly popular in the mid-1990s and was noted for its diverse musical repertoire, including rap, soul and Caribbean influences, particularly reggae. The Score, released in 1996, is one of the best-selling rap albums in the U.S. with over six million copies sold.

In 1989, Pras Michel and Wyclef Jean, two childhood friends, both of Haitian descent, who grew up in Brooklyn, set out to make a living from their passion for music, particularly that of the hip-hop culture. Unfortunately, they know almost no one in the music industry.

However, Pras has a friend, Lisa, whose father is the legendary and highly regarded producer, musician and founding member of Kool & The Gang, Ronald Khalis Bell. Pras asks her to help them. Ronald Khalis Bell accepts. This meeting was decisive and would launch the career of what would later become the Fugees. Shortly after, Pras introduces him to Lauryn Hill, of Jamaican origin, and Marcy, two school friends.

Bell thus starts to work with them and makes them repeat in a studio of New Jersey. But Marcy having to continue her studies stops the rehearsals. Khalis encourages Pras, Wyclef and Lauryn to form a group. They created The Rap Translators (sometimes referred to as the Tranzlator Crew, but this name, given after the fact, is not the one under which the group was performing at the time) in 1989.

In 1993, the Rap Translators were invited to participate in the album Unite by Kool and The Gang, notably on the track B Ball, a tribute to Miles Davis. Wyclef Jean was also invited to play some guitar parts on some tracks.

This was their first recording appearance. The same year, the group signed a contract with Ruffhouse Records, a label distributed by Columbia Records.