Lauryn, Pras and Wyclef mix it up on the mic like no one else in hip-hop. Some might even say they resemble Digable Planets, but they hit the hip-hop industry off at a different angle. The Fugees style represents Haitian political conscious.

Most people do not remember their underground lackluster LP, Blunted On Reality, because of weak production. But they do remember the dope, melodic Nappy Headz remix of Vocab, which was pumped on every rap show and inner-city radio station.

The Fugees come back at us in the nine-six with The Score. The production is tight, and the Fugees did all the work on the boards. Most cuts work off mid-tempo bass and drum loops and snare background samples from Warren Dubin and Roberta Flack that will have your head nodding from here to Mecca.

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This LP does an excellent job at attempting to expand the boundaries of hip-hop by using live instruments. Wyclef’s guitar and trademark Caribbean voice and Lauryn’s soul-filling voice can be heard throughout the CD, especially on Ready Or Not, Killing Me Softly, No Woman, No Cry and Cowboys.

The first single to drop from The Score is Fu-Gee-La, where the Fugees metaphorically compare the high from smoking weed to the natural high of their dope lyrics. It lets the listener know to dis the Refugees is a joke.

The production compliments the fly Haitian flavor. On Ready Or Not, Lauryn flexes her smooth verbal gymnastic delivery:I play my enemies like a game of chess/where I rest/no stress/see we don’t smoke cess/bless/I must confess/my destiny is manifest/in some Gore-Tex and sweats/I make tracks like I’m homeless.

Both Wyclef’s and Pras’ lyrics have matured since the last album, but Pras still lags behind with some weak lyrics. The lyrical content is based on raising the conscious level of the listener. On Cow Boys, the Refugee Camp discusses the gun violence going on in America, and on Family Business, they speak out on issues that divide families; such as drugs and unity.

If everyone in the industry geared their lyrics toward mental and spiritual elevation like the Refugee Camp does, hip-hop would be in a state of evolutionnot degeneration.