How many years has it been since The Fugees'The Score? "Many many, many many many." This week marks the 16th anniversary of The Fugees’ breakout sophomore album that sold 17 million copies worldwide and made the New Jersey trio of Pras Michel, Lauryn Hill, and Wyclef Jean one of the leading forces of 1990s hip-hop. As a producer, Jean’s cousin Jerry “Wonder” Duplessis was front and center, crafting some of the album’s biggest records.
Now an established hit-maker with cuts like Estelle’s “Thank You” and Justin Bieber’s “U Smile” to his credit, Wonder spoke to Complex from his Platinum Sound Recording Studios in Manhattan to talk about getting his big break recording The Score, the records he had a hand in, and chances for the Refugee Crew getting back together.
As told to Brad Wete (@Bradwete)
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Born A Fugee
Jerry Wonder: "Clef’s mom and my father are brothers and sisters so me and ‘Clef grew up together. We had a studio called Booga Basement. My daddy gave me, Wyclef and my brother, Renel—the three of us—the basement and we decided to build a recording studio right in town there in East Orange, NJ.
"Ready or Not"
Jerry Wonder: “'Ready or Not' was magic. The magic behind 'Ready or Not' it was a sample actually. ‘Clef came up with it on the first MPC that I bought. We were learning how to sample and Wyclef came up with that Delfonics sample. That was the first song actually we recorded for The Score.Lauryn wasn’t there when we did the beat.
"How Many Mics"
Jerry Wonder: "The whole thing about that record was a record that was supposed to go out on a mix tape. They actually put it on a mixtape. It was the first record anybody heard from The Score. “How Many Mics” it was on the mixtape, next thing you know people are going crazy over it. We’re like, “Get the fuck out of here.” That was one of the best first records. That’s one of my favorite records on The Score.
"Killing Me Softly"
Jerry Wonder: "We have to give Pras a big shout out. If I remember correctly, that song was the last record we did. Everybody was rapping, rapping, rap, rap, rap. And we’re like. “Hold up, man, we have to have a song on this shit.
The Score's Success
"Shout out to my man Salaam Remi. I love him. He was a big part of this whole thing. And the music partners, it was Wyclef, Jerry Wonda, Lauryn Hill—Salaam was a big part, Diamond D was a big part of it, too. John Forte. It was a big team to put The Score together. Nobody knew it was going to be crazy big like the way it turned out to be."
Collaborating as a Group, Not By Email
Jerry Wonder: "It’s a whole other era right now. People are trying to sell beats and they can travel with social media, which is good. At the time there was no social media, and the thing is when you’re a team like then, we were together. Even if another producer was going to give us something, it was a team effort. It doesn’t work that way anymore. But some people are still doing it.
How The Score Helped His Career & A New Fugees Album
Jerry Wonder: "If I didn’t do The Score, right, in the Booga Basement, I wouldn’t be on the phone with you today. It really helped me and that’s why I love The Score. I paid my dues with The Score. And to me, what’s the biggest thing about it. I didn’t know what was called publishing. I didn’t have publishing on it.
