Posted by A flyer claiming The Roots and The Fugees were the next contenders in an upcoming Verzuz battle started popping up on social media earlier this week.
The ad looked official — the Triller and Verzuz logos were prominently displayed at the top and “Drinks by Cîroc” were promised at the bottom. It even used the color scheme from the Fugees critically acclaimed sophomore album The Score.
But to pull off such a massive feat, Lauryn Hill would essentially need to come out of retirement, make peace with Wyclef Jean and Pras and, oh yeah, hell would likely have to freeze over. After all, the Fugees haven’t been the Fugees in nearly 20 years. But nonetheless, multiple outlets ran with the notion and unfairly got fans hopes up.
On Tuesday (August 24), HipHopDX reached out to Black Thought and showed him the fictitious flyer to which he promptly responded to with a “thumbs down.”
The Fugees — Ms. Hill, Wyclef and Pras — exploded on the scene in 1994 with Blunted On Reality. The 18-track project included the single “Nappy Heads,” which peaked at No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100. But in 1996, they would re-emerge with The Score and solidify their spot in the Hip Hop history books.
Songs such as “Ready Or Not” and “Killing Me Softly” took the album to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and earned the trio two Grammy Awards in the Best Rap Album and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal categories. But inner turmoil within the group would make that album their last.
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With just two studio albums in the Fugees’ catalog, going up against The Roots would’ve been a challenge considering the Philly-bred band has produced over a dozen studio albums, including the classics Illadelph Halflife and Things Fall Apart.
If this was 1996, it would be a different story. For now, Verzuz co-founders Swizz Beatz and Timbaland are reportedly working on getting a Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and Three 6 Mafia battle on the schedule.