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The Fugees translated an intriguing blend of jazz-rap, R&B;, and reggae into huge success during the mid-'90s, when the trio's sophomore albumThe Score hit number one on the pop charts and sold over five million copies. The trio formed in the late '80s in the New Jersey area, whereLauryn Hill andPrakazrel Michel ("Pras") attended a local high school and began working together.Michel's cousinWyclef Jean ("Clef") joined the group (then calledthe Tranzlator Crew), and the trio signed to Ruffhouse/Columbia in 1993. After renaming themselvesThe Fugees (a term of derision, short for refugees, which was usually used to describe Haitian immigrants). Though the group's debut album,Blunted on Reality, was quite solid, it reflected a prevailing gangsta stance that may have been forced by the record label. No matter how pigeonholedThe Fugees may have sounded on their debut, the group had obviously asserted their control by the time of their second album,The Score. With just as much intelligence as their jazz-rap forebears, the trio also worked with surprisingly straight-ahead R&B; on the soulful "Killing Me Softly With His Song," sung byLauryn Hill. Elsewhere,Clef andPras sampled doo wop and coveredBob Marley's "No Woman No Cry," giving the record familiarity for the commercial mainstream, but keeping it real with insightful commentary on their urban surroundings.The Score became one of the surprise hits of 1996, reaching number one on the pop charts and makingThe Fugees one of the most visible rap groups around the world. During 1997, the crew played on the Smokin' Grooves tour, and took time out whileHill gave birth to a child andClef issued a solo album,The Carnival Featuring the Refugee Allstars. In 1998Hill released her smash recordThe Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and in 2000Clef released his second solo disc,The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book. In turn, their solo success cast further doubt on anotherFugees release.