The Score

I really wanted to like this. But honestly apart from the singles - this was really really boring

2 ⭐️

očekivo sam neka tipična rep niga sranja, no ovo je kvalitetno, raznovrsno, jako ugodno iznenađenje! iako nije moj đir uopće, neki su mi se dijelovi jako svidjeli

The lyrics were obviously better than a lot of rap/hip hop lyrics but this album was so not interesting. I didn't make me want to turn it off immediatly but after some time I got tired of it. Some parts were nice, mostly when Lauryn Hill was on vocals.

"Killing me Softly" was played waaaaaaaay too much, but the album overall is a delight. More Hip-Hop like this and less with the ridiculous low-hanging jeans and abuse of women please.

Ready or Not and Killing Me Softly are great. Some of the other songs are pretty good. But the interludes/skits kills it for me every time. All in all though it was fairly enjoyable.

Listen, if you’re going to make an album over an hour long, you need a reason. I don’t want to listen to the same style/beat over and over and over again, no matter how good it is.
They’re a talented bunch for sure but I’m not really digging their rapping beats, even when the lyrics are excellent. Idk man, I feel like I should like this more than I do. Obviously I’m not their target audience, old white lady that I am, but that doesn’t stop me from loving on some other rap/hip hop albums. I think the whole rap/reggae vibe isn’t for me. I like reggae. I like SOME hardcore rap. But the overlying rap is kinda ruining the musical reggae vibe for me.
This is a 2.5 for me. I’ll probably round up because I think it’s more a me problem than a them problem.

This is a good one for me to listen to, because my priors were: I don't like Lauryn Hill (based almost entirely on one song that was popular), I don't really like 'Killing Me Softly', and therefore, I don't like the* Fugees. Even though I know they're highly acclaimed! I know! But I do like Wyclef Jean! Am I a huge sexist? I mean, the data speaks for itself.

Anyway, so I had the impression they were mostly slow jams, and they are not: they are mostly raps. For me, this is an upgrade. Also they make so many media references, and since this is 1995, I know them! The slur count is nonzero though, which is a (near-inevitable given the genre) downgrade.

Highlights: 'Ready or Not', 'Fu-Gee-La' (hearing the 8000 remixes actually made me like it more and not less, especially the ~global~ one), the line "lyrics fast like Ramadan", 'The Mask', 'No Woman, No Cry', the fact that 'Outro' is basically spoken credits

Retroactively obvious realisations: omg, 'Fugees' is short for 'refugees'!

*OK apparently there is no "the" in their name, which is something I always find grammatically difficult (I think we had another band like this, although I forget who it is -- (the) Talking Heads, maybe?). Anyway, if I had said "I don't like Fugees", now that I know "Fugees" is short for "Refugees", that seems open to problematic interpretation, so I put the "the" even though it's wrong. l a n g u a g e

Already listened to it, I like it but I'm not a huge fan of Rnb. I recognize the greatness, it's just not for me.

I've always had mixed feelings in my limited exposure to this group. I heard only the hits. As an album it feels like a true synthesis between Wu-Tang and something more gentle like LL-Cool J's more romantic tracks. It has skits, it has some nice flows, it has great sampling, it's a fantastic and varied album. I don't know that I'll run it back again and again but I enjoyed it.

The Good: The Score had an interesting cast of Bobby DeNiro, Ed Norton, Angela Basset and the great Marlon Brando!
The Bad: Even with such a stellar cast, the movie didn’t meet expectations.
The Ugly: This album is the same…

I am no fan of hip-hop, and I try to do my best to keep an open mind when listening to any hip-hop album that appears on the list.
So, The Score shows and my thoughts are “NOOOOOOOOOOO……”

When this album originally came out, the mid-90s were going through some serious identity crisis. We had the OJ trial which divided society in half, and just like you have today, it seems that if you weren’t on the “OJ is innocent” side, well then you must be a racist pig. If you couldn’t appreciate the effort The Fugees put into the album, and how great they are, then dito, you must be a racist pig.

And that is my problem with this album. It is too political, too polarizing, too much trying to be something instead of being something.

But the album was successful across the board, even if 2 of the 3 hits were pretty much cover songs, and that is something that was impressive enough.

So, 3* as this little pig doesn’t like to squeal!

Somehow I had forgotten about the skits between tracks. I was happier before rediscovering them.
There's clearly some great tracks here, but I don't think it's aged particularly well. The flow seems somehow stuck between oldschool and some newer more complex schemes, but I didn't enjoy coming back to this album.

The production, the rhymes, the variation in styles between each group member; one of the greatest hip-hop albums I've ever heard. Idk how I went this long without actually giving this a proper listen.

Never heard this before, better than I expected. Hill is clearly the star here, but was more hip-hop focused than the singles would indicate. An easy listen

I do like my hip hop conscious. So this is right to my alley. Great rhymes, great production. A free misses for me but for the most part a very solid listenable album that gets you both moving and thinking.

Another all-time classic.

I cannot overstate how absolutely fantastic this album is. I haven’t listened in many, many years, but holy shit. Not only does it hold up, it is definitively on the Mount Rushmore of hip hop albums.

The beats, the lyrics, the wordplay, the interplay between the MCs - It’s all flawless. I often complain that we don’t have half stars in this, and for good reason. Even some of the other 5 star albums I’ve rated don’t hold up to this masterpiece.

Most of the songs in this album have very basic beats and weren't super interesting to me. I do like "Ready or Not", "Killing Me Softly With His Song" and "No Woman No Cry" however.

This was soooo good. Every song is a banger wow

I still don't get the whole "one time" thing on "Killing Me Softly", but otherwise this is a good listen. Lauryn Hill elevates it; both her rapping and her singing sound great. Forgot how good "Ready Or Not" was. A high three, bordering on four.

I’m at a 5.

I just thought that was really fun – lots of great verses, lots of great lyricism, and a very cool minimalist East Coast style of production that doesn’t get too bombastic, and allows for them to really get their messages and their vocals across. Even though Lauryn Hill is clearly the star here, both Wyclef Jean and Pras come out swinging on this album, and occasionally have moments where they really do outshine her. As a group, they really do bring the best out of each other, and it’s a shame that this is the last album they made as a trio. Obviously, some shit went down, but some bands have existed longer over worse disputes.

I truly thought every track here had something to offer, and I don’t think any track really missed a beat. Just a super strong album from top to bottom, and certainly worthy of being on this list of 1,001 albums. If nothing else, it gave us that fabulous cover of Killing Me Softly, which is one of my favorite tracks ever. Pretty easy 5.