The Score

A very high 3, but still a 3

Can you believe that its been 52 days since i got a hip hop album? I’ve had an elvis costello record, five albums from the top 20 highest rated on the site, an album from an unnamed man who could put someone who’s just had 15 coffees asleep, and two Eric Clapton flavored turds since I had a hip hop album. Well here I am reviewing the Fugees. As for the album, it was okay. I’ve heard Lauryn Hill’s solo album and I would definitely rather listen to that. There are definitely some better rap albums from the mid 90s that could replace this one. It’s still not a bad album.

Only knew ready or not and killing me softly before, but the rest was enjoyable. I enjoy more melodic hip hop albums like this one (for lack of a better descriptor). Skits continue to be dumb af. 4*
Highlights: ready or not, zealots, killing me softly

A bit dated, and a bit overrated, but its hard to argue against melodies, lyrics, and beats this good. A tad overlong, but some stone-cold classics make up for that ("Ready or Not," "Fu-Gee-La," their superior cover of "Killing Me Softly." Also crazy to hear a rap album with actually funny skits!

Only halfway listening through this, this morning, but obviously this is a monster of an album. I know for sure at the very least it deserves strong 4 stars, it's an amazing work of Hip Hop, greatly produced, great influences and for me, this is Hip Hop at its best. WE will see if it can reach top marks, but probably clear 4.5 on RYM.

Day 34

Less than 40 days and I've rinsed Ms. Hill twice already. Not complaining. This shit fire

Fav track: The Mask

Great blending of Reggae with hip-hop. On par with, if not better, than Miseducation. The guests provide great verses. Everything is so smooth here. Just exceptionally relistenable.

This is a good album but I must admit I was a bit disappointed. I'm not a fan of hip-hop but I thought I would like this more than I did.

I liked the lyrics, and also some of the tracks: "How Many Mics", "Zealots" or "Family Business"
However, I'm not a,big fan of "Ready or Not" (which I think is ok), or "Killing Me Softly". And I was not very excited with the cover of "No Woman, No Cry". So, overall, it is in the range of 3,5 stars for me. However, I think this is generally a bit overrated, so I'm going with 3 stars.

Really amazing production and sampling. I especially love the covers

Loved this one when it was new, and I still do today. Lauren Hill has one of my favorite singing voices of all time. I listened to this one recently - sadly, John Forte died earlier this year.

This entire record front to back is insane. The lyrics delivered by each Fugee member and all the guest appearances flow so well and complement the beats awesomely. Each instrumental is perfect, simple enough to allow the lyrics to be the forefront while also setting the vivid scene of the studio in the city. To elevate the entire album to a new level, Ms. Lauryn Hill not only performs some incredible rapping, but also some spine tingling singing. The vocal delivery on Killing Me Softly alone makes this album perfect, but every track is consistently up to par with it. Another thing to praise are the seamless transitions from song to song along with the immersive skits that add to the overall story. Ms. Lauryn Hills talent just explodes the entire album- it's absolutely infectious. Every single track is perfect with absolutely zero skips. And then the whole thing comes full circle with the ending finishing with the theme from the beginning. It's so good. My only complaint is that this project didn't happen again. The Score is an experience, and it's something i'm definitely returning to.

The album is packed with tubes (but mostly covers) and overall a real pleasure to listen to.

Favorite songs: Ready or not ; Fu-Gee-La ; Killing Me Softly ; No Woman, No Cry ;

Nope

Heard several of the tracks on here already but even the ones I hadn’t heard slapped, still not loving the skits and outros on these 90s rap albums but not enough to make this down much

4

A staple of my sixth form common room on release, and something that made me essentially dismiss lots of gansta rap at the time. The whole album still stands up with some excellent beats and standout rhymes. The big hit of Killing Me Softly is probably the weakest tune, and loads of the album tracks should perhaps have been singles - see Zealots, The Mask, and Cowboys. Phenomenal stuff.

Maybe it's a shame that they fell apart after this record, or maybe that keeps this intact with an unsullied recorded history.

A well constructed album with a number of memorable songs. Some of the interludes were not great, and some of the songs were kinda forgettable, but overall good. 4/5

I think this is…a little more than decent. I love this project for making me hear the full albums and learn more than just the hits and this happened today. It’s been on my to do list to listen to this full one. The hits are still great. The skits drag the album down. All that said, it was enjoyable. But not on the level of ATCQ or De La Soul and others.

4/5. For a group whose legacy is largely defined by clashing egos, conflict and scandal, you honestly don’t feel that in their music as all three members here play off of each-other very smoothly. That being said, for me the highlight is unsurprisingly Lauryn Hill who gives this record a lot of its most iconic hooks on songs like “ready or not” and “Killing me softly with his song”, the former being my favorite track here. The production is also mostly great. That being said, what the hell was that Chinese restaurant skit lmao.

I mean, just one of the best of the era and I think will live on as one of the best cover to cover albums of all time. It may actually be better today than it was the day it came out. The beats, the lyrics, the melodies, the flow. Just that good. 5.

Shoulda listened to this ages ago