Fugees are an American hip hop trio formed in 1990 in South Orange, New Jersey. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to prominence in the mid-1990s for their pioneering blend of reggae, R&B, funk and hip hop, which eschewed gangsta rap and made them one of the most significant alternative hip hop acts. They occasionally rapped in Haitian Creole, and were one of the first hip hop bands to incorporate live instrumentation during their performances, along with the Roots.
"Tha Crossroads" is a song written and performed by hip hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, released as a single in April 1996. The song is dedicated to the group's mentor, the late gangsta rap icon Eazy-E, and other family members. The song was the highest-debuting rap single when it debuted at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching number one the following week and staying there for eight consecutive weeks. It also reached number one in New Zealand, where it was the most successful single of 1996. In 1997, the song won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.
American singer Mary J. Blige began her career as a backing vocalist for Uptown Records in the early 1990s. In a career spanning more than thirty years, she has released 14 studio albums and 83 singles—including more than 20 as a featured artist. The "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" has sold an estimate of over 100 million records worldwide, and over 20 million in the United States alone. Billboard ranked Blige as the 18th Greatest Billboard 200 Woman of all time, the 45th Greatest Hot 100 Woman of all time and 88th Greatest Artist of all time.
"Last Resort" is the debut single by American rock band Papa Roach. The song first appeared on the soundtrack to the 2000 film Ready to Rumble and appeared on Papa Roach's second studio album, Infest, shortly after. "Last Resort" was released as the album's lead single on March 7, 2000, and reached number 57 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in December 2000. It also topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for seven weeks and became a top-10 hit in Austria, Germany, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.
"Elegantly Wasted" is the title track and first single released from the album Elegantly Wasted by Australian band INXS. The single was released in Europe, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Canada, and the United States.
"I Don't Wanna Know" is a song by American R&B artist Mario Winans featuring rapper P. Diddy and Irish singer Enya. The song is based on a sample of the Fugees' song "Ready or Not", which in turn samples the synthesizer riff from Enya's song "Boadicea". The drums are sampled from the end of EPMD's "You're a Customer".
"Pony" is a song by American singer Ginuwine, released as the debut single from his first album, Ginuwine...The Bachelor (1996). Ginuwine singed, co-wrote ,and produced the song with Swing Mob associates Static Major, Digital Black, Smoke E. Digglera, and Timbaland; the latter made his breakthrough as a producer with the song. It peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart.
"You're the One" is a song recorded by American female R&B vocal trio SWV for their second studio album, New Beginning (1996). RCA Records released the song on March 29, 1996, as the lead single from New Beginning. "You're the One" topped the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart and became a top-10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and in New Zealand, receiving gold certifications in both countries. A sample of this song can be heard in South Korean boy group EXO's song "Ya Ya Ya" from their seventh studio album, Obsession (2019).
"Strange" is a song by Scottish band Wet Wet Wet, released as the second single from their fifth studio album, 10 (1997). It was released on 2 June 1997, charting at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart and becoming the group's 19th top-20 hit in the UK. Marti Pellow recorded his own version of the song for inclusion on his 2002 album, Marti Pellow Sings the Hits of Wet Wet Wet & Smile.
"Gone till November" a song by Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean, released as the third single from debut solo album, The Carnival (1997). The song was released on 25 November 1997 by Columbia and Ruffhouse, and peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Jean's highest-charting solo hit in the UK alongside 2000's "It Doesn't Matter". In the United States, the song peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also reached number four in both Canada and New Zealand
"Where's the Love" is a song by American pop rock band Hanson. It was released on September 1, 1997, as the second single from the band's debut album, Middle of Nowhere (1997). Internationally, it was a successful follow-up to "MMMBop", reaching the top 10 in Australia, Canada, Finland, Hungary, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, "Where's the Love" did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100 due to rules regarding commercial releases, but it peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart and number six on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40.
"Midnight in Chelsea" is a song by American rock singer Jon Bon Jovi, released as the first single from his second solo album, Destination Anywhere (1997), in June 1997. The song is written and produced by Bon Jovi and Dave Stewart, and is Bon Jovi's highest-charting solo single in the UK, reaching number four on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted at number 29 on the US Billboard Adult Top 40, number 30 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart, and number 11 in Canada. Its highest peak was in Spain, where it reached number one for two weeks.
"Everything" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written and produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis for Blige's third album, Share My World (1997). The song contains samples from "You Are Everything" (1971) by American soul group The Stylistics and "The Payback" (1973) by American singer James Brown, also incorporating elements from "Sukiyaki" (1961) by Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto. Due to the inclusion of the samples, Brown, Hachidai Nakamura, Rokusuke Ei, Linda Creed, Thom Bell, John Starks, and Fred Wesley are also credited as songwriters.
"Angel" is a soul ballad recorded by American singer Aretha Franklin. The song was co-written by Aretha's sister, Carolyn, and Sonny Sanders. Aretha co-produced the song with Quincy Jones and it originally appeared on Aretha's nineteenth album, Hey Now Hey (1973). It was released as a single by Atlantic in June 1973 and went on to top the US R&B Singles chart for two weeks while reaching number twenty on the Pop chart. The single sold over 900,000 copies.
"Queen of New Orleans" is a song by American rock singer Jon Bon Jovi, released as the second single from his second solo album, Destination Anywhere (1997) in August 1997. The single charted at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and became a top-40 hit in Australia, Canada, Iceland, Ireland, and the Netherlands. The song features a music video which was released on the DVD Destination Anywhere: The Film.
"I'll Be" is a song recorded by American rapper Foxy Brown for her debut studio album, Ill Na Na (1996), featuring Brooklyn-based rapper Jay-Z. It was released as the second single from the album on March 4, 1997, by Violator and Def Jam Recordings. The song was written by Shawn Carter, Jean-Claude Olivier, Samuel Barnes, Angela Winbush, René Moore, Bobby Watson and Bruce Swedien with production by Trackmasters, and samples René & Angela's 1985 song "I'll Be Good". It was recorded at Chung King Studios in New York City, while the mixing of the track was finished at The Hit Factory. "I'll Be" is a hip hop and R&B song with explicit lyrics that revolve around sex and money.
"Ex-Factor" is a song by American recording artist Lauryn Hill for her debut solo studio album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998). Written and produced by Hill herself, it incorporates elements of R&B, neo soul and hip hop soul. The song features a sample of "Can It Be All So Simple" by Wu-Tang Clan. It has been claimed to be about Hill's former Fugees groupmate Wyclef Jean. The song was released as the second single from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill on December 14, 1998, by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records.
"The World's Greatest" is a song written and performed by American R&B singer R. Kelly. The song was originally featured on the soundtrack to the film Ali, and also appeared on bootleg copies of Kelly's unreleased album, Loveland, which later became a bonus disc to Chocolate Factory. Released as a single in November 2001, "The World's Greatest" became a hit in Europe, reaching number two in the Netherlands, number four in the United Kingdom, and the top 20 in nine other European countries. In the United States, it peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Halo" is a song by Scottish alternative rock band Texas, released on 7 April 1997 as the second single from their fourth studio album, White on Blonde (1997). The song was written by Texas frontwoman Sharleen Spiteri and guitarist Johnny McElhone and was produced by Texas and Mike Hedges. "Halo" debuted and peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Charts. The music video, filmed in Hong Kong, features Spiteri and a Chinese woman acting as her "halo".
The discography of the Fugees, an American hip hop trio consisting of rapper/singer Lauryn Hill and rappers Pras Michel and Wyclef Jean, consists of two studio albums, three compilation albums, one remix album and nine singles and nine music videos. After the group formed in the 1980s under the name Tranzlator Crew, they signed to Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records in 1993; they then changed their name to Fugees – an abbreviation of "refugees", also a reference to Haitian immigrants.
