Fugees Take It Easy : Rolling Stone

It's been nine years since the Fugees -- Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel -- released the groundbreaking, Grammy-snatching The Score. Going down separate paths to pursue solo projects -- Pras found fame with Ghetto Superstar, Hill would win another five Grammy's for 1998's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and Clef released five solo albums -- the Fugees left fans hanging.

Now, according to Wyclef, "Everybody that's been holding their breath should start letting their breaths go."

Currently back in the studio recording The Score's long-awaited follow-up, the hip-hop/reggae trio has already begun to lay down tracks and will release their first single, "Take It Easy," in three weeks, according to Wyclef.

"You've got three individuals that have grown musically," he says of the reunion. "But we're always on the same page -- that's the magic of the Fugees. The Fugees is a unique situation, the real marriage of the hood and the suburbs together. It's always exciting."

For their hip-hop-heavy third studio album, the Fugees are returning to an old-school street vibe reminiscent of their earliest recordings. "Our first record that blew up in New York City was called 'Mona Lisa/Nappy Heads,'" Wyclef says. "It's like we're going back to the core of where we come from. It's that record, the minute it comes on, you be like, 'Oh, that's what I've been missing!'"

According to Wyclef -- who is also simultaneously working on a sequel to his 1997 solo effort, The Carnival, which will feature the return of all the album's original characters -- the Fugees will "definitely" hit the road for a tour next summer.