Post by sybille on Mar 22, 2006 19:14:15 GMT 1
The Fugees hurt. Not a bad thing
By RYAN PEARSON
LOS ANGELES — Lauryn Hill stood on a stage in Hollywood last month with her former band mates, the cousins Wyclef Jean and Prakazrel "Pras" Michel. A chance to kiss and make up, it was and was not.
First, the diva (who now wants to be addressed as Ms. Hill) explained herself to the crowd: "I'm not crazy. I'm just a black woman who's super smart, can't be bought, can't be bribed. I'm not a machine. ... And for some reason today in the world, if you're all of those things, they think you're crazy."
Misunderstanding cleared up, she launched into "Lost Ones," an eminently hummable dart of venom from her 1998 solo album that happens to be directed at Jean, her former lover.
Hill pointed a finger at him and rapped: "It's funny how money change a situation. ... My emancipation don't fit your equation. ... Some wan' play young Lauryn like she dumb."
The jabs sounded so sweet, cloaked as they were in a rise-and-fall melody, that Jean just kept right on playing his guitar.
Pain becomes the Fugees.
Not the external pain of gunshots and drug-slanging that has come to largely define hip-pop in recent years. The internal pain of uncertainty, broken promises, heartbreak.
That was the stuff that boosted the 1996 landmark 5.8 million-selling "The Score" and made Hill's "The Miseducation of..." -- which earned her five Grammys -- so powerful. ("Miseducation" sold 6.6 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, and more than double that overseas.) It's also what sustains Kanye West, who echoed her raw voice on his hit "All Falls Down."
And it's the reason Hill, who disappeared from public to raise her four children with Rohan Marley, cites for reuniting with the Fugees.
She told Essence magazine, "This project has much to do with closure. Once you are able to resolve the negative, you can reclaim the good."
Said bad-good reunion has progressed in fits and starts. The crew reformed publicly at Dave Chappelle's "Block Party" concert in September 2004, at the BET Awards last year and for a recent European tour. They're recording the first new Fugees album in a decade at studios in L.A., New York and Miami.
Singles are dribbling out slowly through an innovative partnership with Verizon Wireless, which sponsored the Hollywood concert. The first, "Take It Easy," was something of a dud, but the next, "Foxy," features ear-catching layers of dub sounds and strong, defiant rhymes from Laur -- pardon -- Ms. Hill.
Slowing the music-making, Michel says, are tantrums and explosions of anger.
"Somebody'll storm out. Somebody'll start yelling, screaming," he told asap before taking the stage in Hollywood. "This whole process, realistically speaking, it's like we in therapy. We all know what's wrong, or what went wrong. ... We were young, we didn't know any better. Now we know better. But it's weird. It's just a weird situation."
By itself, such strife is unlikely to prevent the group from reclaiming its position at the top of pop music. After all, this is largely a simple clash of artists-slash-exes with strong personalities -- a minor conflict in an industry that has seen stars gunned down and more than a few awards shows interrupted by violence.
The question is whether the Fugees have let their moment pass by -- whether their particular blend of Caribbean, hip-hop, pop and reggae styles can stand out in a pop world brimming with reggaeton and R&B/rap collaborations.
The answer lies not in Ms. Hill, a musician so talented her wacky ramblings on 2002's "Unplugged" CD ended up Grammy-nominated. She seems poised to mount a Mariah Careyesque comeback with or without the group; she's reportedly been working on a new solo album.
It depends on the two guys now unavoidably seen as her backup.
Jean remains a significant and talented producer -- aiding Shakira, Destiny's Child and others -- but despite his versatility and showmanship (backflips! multilingual freestyles!) has never become a solo star. Since "The Carnival," his increasingly irrelevant albums have flopped.
"I'm like Bob Marley. Ya'll ain't gonna figure out who I am until I'm done," he told asap.
Eager to change that, he's been the driving force behind a reunion, and as always the group's biggest cheerleader. Assessing the 2006 Fugees sound, he explained: "'The Score' was the blueprint. We did that in a small basement. ... Sonically we feel that we're advanced."
Jean carries enough energy and bravado into the reunion to make up for the mood swings of Ms. Hill. He probably needs her more than she him, but once together, they flourish.
Michel is the reluctant third wheel. This reunion is a ticket back to stardom for the laid-back 33-year-old, whose simplistic raps are nearly always overshadowed by his comrades. Yet, unsure what to make of lingering bad blood, he seems ready to duck out the back door at any minute.
"They used to say what don't kill you can only make you stronger, right? But I think this thing is gonna really kill me before I get strong, man," he told asap.
So everything should be fine. Pain becomes the Fugees.
www.austin360.com/news/content/shar...ees_Reborn.html
By RYAN PEARSON
LOS ANGELES — Lauryn Hill stood on a stage in Hollywood last month with her former band mates, the cousins Wyclef Jean and Prakazrel "Pras" Michel. A chance to kiss and make up, it was and was not.
First, the diva (who now wants to be addressed as Ms. Hill) explained herself to the crowd: "I'm not crazy. I'm just a black woman who's super smart, can't be bought, can't be bribed. I'm not a machine. ... And for some reason today in the world, if you're all of those things, they think you're crazy."
Misunderstanding cleared up, she launched into "Lost Ones," an eminently hummable dart of venom from her 1998 solo album that happens to be directed at Jean, her former lover.
Hill pointed a finger at him and rapped: "It's funny how money change a situation. ... My emancipation don't fit your equation. ... Some wan' play young Lauryn like she dumb."
The jabs sounded so sweet, cloaked as they were in a rise-and-fall melody, that Jean just kept right on playing his guitar.
Pain becomes the Fugees.
Not the external pain of gunshots and drug-slanging that has come to largely define hip-pop in recent years. The internal pain of uncertainty, broken promises, heartbreak.
That was the stuff that boosted the 1996 landmark 5.8 million-selling "The Score" and made Hill's "The Miseducation of..." -- which earned her five Grammys -- so powerful. ("Miseducation" sold 6.6 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, and more than double that overseas.) It's also what sustains Kanye West, who echoed her raw voice on his hit "All Falls Down."
And it's the reason Hill, who disappeared from public to raise her four children with Rohan Marley, cites for reuniting with the Fugees.
She told Essence magazine, "This project has much to do with closure. Once you are able to resolve the negative, you can reclaim the good."
Said bad-good reunion has progressed in fits and starts. The crew reformed publicly at Dave Chappelle's "Block Party" concert in September 2004, at the BET Awards last year and for a recent European tour. They're recording the first new Fugees album in a decade at studios in L.A., New York and Miami.
Singles are dribbling out slowly through an innovative partnership with Verizon Wireless, which sponsored the Hollywood concert. The first, "Take It Easy," was something of a dud, but the next, "Foxy," features ear-catching layers of dub sounds and strong, defiant rhymes from Laur -- pardon -- Ms. Hill.
Slowing the music-making, Michel says, are tantrums and explosions of anger.
"Somebody'll storm out. Somebody'll start yelling, screaming," he told asap before taking the stage in Hollywood. "This whole process, realistically speaking, it's like we in therapy. We all know what's wrong, or what went wrong. ... We were young, we didn't know any better. Now we know better. But it's weird. It's just a weird situation."
By itself, such strife is unlikely to prevent the group from reclaiming its position at the top of pop music. After all, this is largely a simple clash of artists-slash-exes with strong personalities -- a minor conflict in an industry that has seen stars gunned down and more than a few awards shows interrupted by violence.
The question is whether the Fugees have let their moment pass by -- whether their particular blend of Caribbean, hip-hop, pop and reggae styles can stand out in a pop world brimming with reggaeton and R&B/rap collaborations.
The answer lies not in Ms. Hill, a musician so talented her wacky ramblings on 2002's "Unplugged" CD ended up Grammy-nominated. She seems poised to mount a Mariah Careyesque comeback with or without the group; she's reportedly been working on a new solo album.
It depends on the two guys now unavoidably seen as her backup.
Jean remains a significant and talented producer -- aiding Shakira, Destiny's Child and others -- but despite his versatility and showmanship (backflips! multilingual freestyles!) has never become a solo star. Since "The Carnival," his increasingly irrelevant albums have flopped.
"I'm like Bob Marley. Ya'll ain't gonna figure out who I am until I'm done," he told asap.
Eager to change that, he's been the driving force behind a reunion, and as always the group's biggest cheerleader. Assessing the 2006 Fugees sound, he explained: "'The Score' was the blueprint. We did that in a small basement. ... Sonically we feel that we're advanced."
Jean carries enough energy and bravado into the reunion to make up for the mood swings of Ms. Hill. He probably needs her more than she him, but once together, they flourish.
Michel is the reluctant third wheel. This reunion is a ticket back to stardom for the laid-back 33-year-old, whose simplistic raps are nearly always overshadowed by his comrades. Yet, unsure what to make of lingering bad blood, he seems ready to duck out the back door at any minute.
"They used to say what don't kill you can only make you stronger, right? But I think this thing is gonna really kill me before I get strong, man," he told asap.
So everything should be fine. Pain becomes the Fugees.
www.austin360.com/news/content/shar...ees_Reborn.html
