The Daily Spin, April 25
Fugees | The Score
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite song from each album right here.
If you want to suggest an album, good news! You can do so right here!
Album: The Score (1996)
Artist: Fugees
Link:
It’s hard to find a group that has managed to be so successful as a cohesive unit on top of their respective solo careers the way the Fugees have - with powerhouses Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras forming the backbone of this jazz-like RnB rap group.
The unfortunate thing is that this just isn’t really super my style of music - 90s rap tends to miss more than it hits for me, and I’m not much in the business of giving a record or an artist plaudits solely for what it spawns thereafter - but that merits mention, all the same. It’s undeniable that this album set the tone not only for the Fugees and the artists comprising that group, but many an act would follow in the style of The Score, for better or for worse.
It’s really good at its peak, and at its valleys, it’s… not. Socially conscious beyond its time, tinged with beautiful metaphors for the refugee experience - it’s a genuinely nice record, but that’s about all I think I’d really have to offer on it.
Rating: 7.8/10
Best Tracks: Ready or Not; How Many Mics
Worst Tracks: The Beast; Cowboys