Fugees Blunted On Reality CD

Fugees (Tranzlator Crew): Wyclef, Lauryn (rap vocals); Prakazrel (rap vocals, guitar, bass).
Additional personnel: Levi, Mad Spider (vocals); Larry Stokes (guitar); Khalis Bayyan (saxophone, keyboards); Rashad Muhammad (bass, programming); Derrick Darling (drums); DJ Boy Wonder (scratches); Deejay Doc 4 (programming).
Producers include: Rashad Muhammad, Le Jam Productions, Inc., Brand X, Wyclef, Prakazrel, Khalis Bayyan.
Recorded at House of Music, Inc., West Orange, New Jersey.
Two years before their platinum-selling breakthrough, THE SCORE, the New Jersey trio also known as the Tranzlator Crew hit the scene with 18 decidedly harder boom-bap tracks built on high-energy shout raps. On bass-heavy and fevered drum-fueled cuts like "Nappy Heads," "Recharge," and "How Hard Is It?" Wyclef, Lauryn, and Pras let loose frantic tag-team flows reminiscent of early-'90s crews like Fu-Schnickens and Leaders of the New School, while the laidback, acoustic guitar-driven beat of "Vocab" and the dancehall-infused "Temple" would give inklings of the group's later direction.
Given the brilliance of The Score and the shortage of Fugees albums in the '90s, many fans probably sought out Blunted on Reality. After all, though the album pretty much disappeared as soon as it appeared back in early 1994, it was still the Fugees, and that was reason enough for many to seek it out. Those fans no doubt were a little shocked, though, by what they found. Yes, Blunted features Wyclef, Lauryn Hill, and Pras, but it's not quite the same trio that fans of The Score have come to know. Here they offer their take on rap circa 1993. However, rather than use rap as a starting point and depart from there into a myriad of other directions as they did on The Score, they used rap as a starting point and never depart, instead emulating the popular style of the era. In that sense, it comes across as a bit derived and undoubtedly confined by its stifled creative ambitions. If you think back, you'll probably remember 1993 as being the pinnacle of gangsta rap -- Dr. Dre's The Chronic was ubiquitous with not only its reach but also its influence, and Death Row was literally changing the game. If you keep this context in mind, it's a little easier to understand why Blunted on Reality sounds nothing like The Score. It's essentially the Fugees trying to earn respect in an era of gangstas, chronic, bitches, and guns by trying to come across as being hardcore. And, unfortunately, as hard as the Fugees portray themselves here, it can't help but seem a little silly in retrospect. That's kind of what this album is -- silly. It doesn't intend to be, but, in the post-Score world, it's hard to imagine Wyclef, not to mention Hill, fronting like a gangsta. Besides the fronting, there just aren't that many impressive moments here, perhaps an even better reason to avoid this album. It's the sort of album that is best seen as novelty. Devoted fans may wish to seek it out for curiosity's sake, and that's understandable, but no one should approach this album expecting the prequel to The Score. ~ Jason BirchmeierQ (11/96, p.150) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...singalongs like `Nappy Head' and `Giggles' contrast spitting raps with mischievous humor, illustrating that the Fugee crew aren't scared of debunking the expected macho values. Muthafuckas and bitches are not an overriding obsession; the word content is more thoughtful..."
Vibe (2/94, p.107) - "...Descendants of the `hip hop, you don't stop' rhyming of Sugarhill days, the Fugees celebrate words, wordplay, and MC battles settled with lyrical beatdowns, not literal ones....The Fugees are talented songwriters and gifted rappers who...don't take themselves too seriously...."
The Source (3/94, p.71) - "...Good ideas abound on the album, from progressive production techniques to inter-song segues to some inventive lyrics....Lauryn possesses much of the trio's lyrical muscle...she steals the show again and again on every track she appears on....Not since Ladybug from Dig Plans has a female MC emerged with such grace and style...."
Melody Maker (3/5/94, p.42) - "...The most fully-realised rap album since The Goats' TRICKS OF THE SHADE....A perfect microcosm of 25 years of inspirational music and a fine point at which to recapture the time when black Americans didn't have to act like fucking criminals to turn whitey on..."
New York Times (Publisher) (1/5/95, p.C15) - Included on Jon Pareles' list of the Top 10 Albums Of '94 - "...Brash, smart raps, drawing on Jamaican dancehall rhythms as well as American hip-hop..."