Ready or Not (Fugees song)

"Ready or Not"
Single by Fugees
from the album The Score
Released August 29, 1996
Format CD single
Recorded 1995
Genre Hip hop, Pop
Length 3:47
Label Ruffhouse
Writer(s) Nelust Wyclef Jean, Samuel Prakazrel Michel, Lauryn Hill, William Hart, Thomas Bell, Enya, Nicky Ryan, Roma Ryan
Producer(s) Nelust Wyclef Jean, Samuel Prakazrel Michel, Lauryn Hill, Jerry Duplessis
Fugees singles chronology
"Killing Me Softly"
(1996)		 "Ready or Not"
(1996)		 "No Woman, No Cry"
(1996)

"Ready or Not" is a song by the American hip hop group Fugees, from their second studio album The Score (1996). The song contains a sample of "Boadicea" from Enya (1987) by Enya, and its chorus is based on "Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)" by The Delfonics. While "Ready or Not" was a minor hit in the Fugees' native United States, the song was most successful in Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom, where it topped the charts. It remained at that position for two weeks, becoming their second chart-topping single of 1996 in Britain, following Killing Me Softly.[1] Singer Enya was prepared to sue the group for copyright infringement, because she had not permitted the group to sample "Boadicea". She eventually settled out of court.

Barack Obama listed this as his favourite song.[2] The song is used from the theatrical trailer of the film Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.

Background and critical reception

The song contains a sample of "Boadicea" by Enya. Enya considered suing the Fugees. She said later on: "We were actually on the verge of suing them because of the copyright infringement, because they just didn't approach us. It was a case of, I wasn't featured at all on the credits and it [the sample] was very much a part of the song."[3] The chorus is based on "Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)" by The Delfonics, which was an addition suggested by member Wyclef Jean.[4]

Reflecting on the recording process, Pras said: "At one point, the group had disbanded. [Lauryn Hill] had left the group at this point and we didn't know what we were going to do. She calls me and says, 'Listen, I'm going to come down to the studio and I'm going to lay down a reference for you guys, a hook. I give you permission to use my hook, my voice, but I don't want to be a part of this group anymore.' I said, 'Fair enough. No problem.' She said, 'Make sure certain people are not around when I'm there.' I said, 'No problem.' She's laying the reference for 'Ready Or Not' and then she goes into the bridge and she's crying. I see her crying. She stops and says, 'I can't do this anymore,' and leaves. A couple months later she re-joins the group. She said, 'Let's do 'Ready or Not' again 'cause I was crying. It was emotional.' She goes in the studio to do 'Ready Or Not' again. She was in there five hours doing the hook. Every hit is incredible. But we go back and say, 'There's something about that reference. I don't know if we can touch that.' We end up keeping the reference. That's what the world has come to hear. There's something about that record… That's magic."[5]

Spin described the song as "an eerily ambient flow of confused musings (Jean), confident harmonies (Hill), and immigrant pride (Michel), tapped insistently into your consciousness by a simple snare beat."[6] Larry Flick of Billboard wrote the song was "far more representative of the act's vibe", and that "this cut nicely illustrates its lyrical strength as well as its talent for switching from smooth soul singing to sharp rapping within the space of a few seconds."[7]

Music video

Vibe reported that the Fugees' "Ready or Not" video helped usher in the era of bank-breaking, movie-like hip hop videos. The video featured helicopters, explosions, sharks, chase scenes, and a price tag of 1.3 million dollars. In justifying the cost, Pras told Vibe "People want to see drama, man. You figure: A kid pays sixteen dollars for your CD. Let him see a good video." [8]

Other versions

Track listing

UK CD1
  1. "Ready or Not" (radio version) – 3:47
  2. "Ready or Not" (Salaam's Ready for the Show Remix) – 4:24
  3. "Ready or Not" (Handel's Yaard Vibe Mix) – 4:41
  4. "The Score" – 4:32
UK CD2
  1. "Ready or Not" (album version) – 3:50
  2. "How Many Mics" – 4:23
  3. "Freestyle" – 5:03
  4. "Blame It on the Sun" – 5:41

Charts

Chart (1996) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[10] 24
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11] 17
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12] 6
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[13] 6
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[14] 2
Germany (Official German Charts)[15] 8
Ireland (IRMA) 2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[16] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17] 8
Norway (VG-lista)[18] 8
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[19] 3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 23
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[21] 1
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[22] 22

References

  1. ↑ The Fugees UK chart info Chartstats.com. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  2. ↑ Coplon, Jon. "White House DJ Battle". Blender.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2009. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  3. ↑ Ness, Jimmy (June 20, 2016). "A Conversation With Enya About Sampling, The Nature Of Fame, And How To Control Your Career". Forbes. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Fugees Producer Jerry Wonder Talks About The 16th Anniversary of "The Score"". Complex. February 14, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  5. ↑ Ramirez, Erika (March 31, 2014). "Ladies First: 31 Female Rappers Who Changed Hip-Hop". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  6. ↑ "The Year in Music - Band of the Year". Spin: 54. January 1997. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  7. ↑ Flick, Larry (August 24, 1996). "Singles". Billboard: 113. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  8. ↑ Gimme the Loot Vibe, February 1998
  9. ↑ The Course UK chart info Chartstats.com. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  10. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Fugees – Ready or Not". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  11. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Fugees – Ready or Not" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  12. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Fugees – Ready or Not" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  13. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Fugees – Ready or Not" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  14. ↑ "Fugees: Ready or Not" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  15. ↑ "Musicline.de – Fugees Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  16. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Fugees search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  17. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Fugees – Ready or Not". Top 40 Singles.
  18. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Fugees – Ready or Not". VG-lista.
  19. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Fugees – Ready or Not". Singles Top 100.
  20. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Fugees – Ready or Not". Swiss Singles Chart.
  21. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1996-09-21" UK Singles Chart.
  22. ↑ "Fugees – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Fugees.
Preceded by
"Flava" by Peter Andre		 UK Singles Chart number-one single
September 15, 1996 - September 28, 1996
(two weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Breakfast at Tiffany's" by Deep Blue Something
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.