Today, Wyclef Jean and Vevo share a new episode of Vevo Footnotes, going behind the scenes of The Fugees’ defining anthem “Ready Or Not” to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of their landmark album The Score. The song became one of the group’s biggest international hits, charting in the Top 10 in more than 15 countries worldwide. Widely considered one of the standout records from The Score, “Ready or Not” showed the group’s ability to merge mainstream appeal with a deeper message.

In the episode, Wyclef reflects on the making of the song and its music video, which was created before AI and relied on real helicopters, real explosions and physically demanding stunts that he performed himself. He recalls intense moments during the fight scenes that almost dislocated his shoulder, as well as the underwater sequence that had him terrified and secured with clamps due to his inability to swim. He also credits Lauryn Hill for deepening his appreciation of soul music and the Delphonics sample, and shares that he discovered the Enya “Boadicea” sample while watching the movie Sleepwalkers.

 

 

Wyclef also reflects on the Fugees’ identity as more than just a music group and emphasizes their role as a voice for the community. He describes the “Ready or Not” video as one of the most fun experiences he ever had, comparing it to The Fugees’ version of “The Avengers.” Closing the episode, he remembers the Fugees’ philosophy: “We’re not going to do music.” “We’re going to be a movement. Because the movement is going to be bigger than the music. So no matter where anybody is in any part of the world, they can feel like they’re part of the movement.”

EPISODE FULL TRANSCRIPT:

:08 – Wyclef Jean: Fugees always lived in that space of imagination. And at the time, remember, that’s when everyone was doing these super big videos. And this is like the era before AI. You needed the actual helicopter there. You needed to put them explosives there. I had no stunt man. I did my own stunts.

:35 – Wyclef Jean: The Delfonics sample, that’s what made the Fugees amazing. That’s straight up Lauryn Hill. She’s just amazing. She literally put me up on soul music. I think that that was her genius. I have my genius in doing the beats and sampling freaking Enya out of Ireland. And she’s singing Delfonics.

1:05 – Wyclef Jean: I remember the guy that I was fighting. Those guys were real fighters. I almost dislocated my arm.

1:20 – Wyclef Jean: I don’t have a favorite line. I just love my verse. The expression of yourself and being able to just tell y’all what’s really going down in the community. That was it.

1:45 – Wyclef Jean: With the Fugees, there’s always two parts to it: we love to entertain, but at the same time there’s always a sub-message. The group Fugees is short for refugees. It was just the idea of anything or anybody that needed a sense of comfort, refuge, or didn’t have a voice to speak, that we’d be there for you.

2:30 – Wyclef Jean: This was the most fun I’ve ever had. I think the three of us could have been like action figures. So “Ready Or Not” was just like our version of, like, The Avengers, you know what I’m saying?

2:50 – Wyclef used an Akai MPC60 to sample Enya’s “Boadicea.” He came across the track while watching the 1992 film ‘Sleepwalkers.’

3:15 – Wyclef Jean: As far as the video, I was terrified. Because at the time I couldn’t swim and the director was like, going to put me in the water. And I was like, “yo, I ain’t going in the water.” He put me in the water! I was so terrified. They had to put clamps on me. So if I gave a signal, they could just pull me back up.

3:45 – Wyclef Jean: One thing I always remember and these words echo ‘til today, “We’re not going to do music.” “We’re going to be a movement. Because the movement is going to be bigger than the music.” So no matter where anybody is in any part of the world, they can feel like they’re part of the movement.