While we spend time berating Wyclef for expounding on his love affair with ex-band-mate Lauryn Hill in his new memoir Purpose—we are neglecting to note the rare musical journey that Wyclef takes us on. The making of The Score, a historical record—named one of the 500 greatest albums of all time—staunch hip hop lovers should be excited. Wyclef unpacked how The Score came together while breaking down some of the mathematical science behind the hip hop masterpiece.
Yes, he had an affair with Lauryn Hill. Yes, he was married. To some it’s an atrocity—but it’s also an unconventional kind of love affair that we will never understand.
On The Fugees’ sophomore album, a lovelorn Lauryn Hill may have offered an alternative narrative to the affair “You see I loved hard once, but the love wasn’t returned, I found out the man I died for wasn’t even concerned.” Perhaps she was airing out Wyclef here. “Though my eyes saw the deception my heart wouldn’t let me learn,” she raps on “when my peoples would protest, I’d told them mind their business, because my sh*t was complex, more than just the sex.” There were an array of implications of pain and heartbreak throughout The Score. Wyclef’s clandestine romance with Hill was the driving force of the album. They brought all of their emotions and drama [while Pras brought his vision and business mind) to the album catapulting it to the top of the charts—producing unforgettable classics such as “Killing me Softly,” and “Ready or Not.”
Wyclef’s endurance and strength displayed throughout the book is also worth mention. Being an immigrant coming to the States, mastering the art of rap (against the wishes of his father) and successfully helping to cross conscious hip hop over to the pop charts is highly laudable. “In 1996, there was so much great music out that for us to sell 15 million records worldwide really meant something, hip hop and R&B were at their best that year. Biggie and Tupac had released masterpieces, Jay-Z was heating up, TLC was at the top of the charts with CrazySexyCool and Wu-Tang had us all in check….we had to have skills to take those charts by storm the way we did,” explained Wyclef.
During the group’s early stages, Wyclef conjured up what he thought would be a brilliant idea—he purchased a live Mexican goat to perform on stage with the band while opening up for Jodeci. This was to make sure the group’s performance would remain memorable—to the group’s surprise, it worked. The Mexican goat performance got them recognition on New York’s hottest radio station, Hot 97.
It gets deep when Wyclef reveals how the chart-topping single ‘Ready or Not’ was born between him and Lauryn. “That song was born in [a] small room, just the two of us alone in the dark. She closed the door, she kept singing….it was natural and beautiful and I fell more in love with her on the spot…Lauryn cried during one vocal take, after she’d run through the song a few times. The version you hear on the record is the one where she cried…we were going through our sh*t, and that song and her performance says more than I could ever put down here on this page.”
Wyclef believes The Fugees are responsible for bringing hip hop into mainstream—some may agree. They were certainly ahead of their time, lyrical geniuses, conscious beasts and raw storytellers. According to Wyclef, there will never be another Fugees’ record, and as he said on The Wendy Williams Show, he has finally severed all ties with Hill. Perhaps there would’ve been a reunion had Wyclef listened to his mind. He closes “we lost when we followed our hearts where our minds told us not to go.”
Lathleen is a freelance writer living in New York. You can follow her on twitter @Lathleen
