Wyclef Jean has insisted The Fugees will go ahead with their reunion tour eventually.
The ‘Killing Me Softly’ hitmakers – which also include Lauryn Hill and Pras Michel – announced in September 2021 they would hit the road to celebrate 25 years of their classic album ‘The Score’ but the dates were postponed and ultimately cancelled in March this year due to varying COVID-19 restrictions in the cities they were due to perform in.
And now, Wyclef has urged fans not to “lose hope” as the trio are planning to play the gigs at some point.
Speaking to HipHopDX about the tour, he said: “All I could do is tell you that with the Fugees, I’m very excited and I look forward to it getting rescheduled. I look forward. As a fan of the Fugees, I’m very excited. All I could do is just tell all the fans, do not lose hope, because y’all know we the Hip Hop Grateful Dead. We going to get this thing cracking.”
Elsewhere in the interview, the ‘Ghetto Superstar’ hitmaker teased his upcoming solo album ‘2097’, the follow-up to 2019’s ‘Wyclef Goes Back to School Volume 1’.
He said: “The new album is going to be called ‘2097’, and in the next couple of weeks, we’ll be putting out the first single from ‘2097’.
“I need y’all to go back with me. Go to ‘AfriCali.’ I need y’all to Google, go back to 1990.
“This is four years before the Fugees, so the first song I ever put out were the house music records. It was a house song because back then, we used to dance a lot and we loved house music because of how it made people feel in the clubs.
“All I can do is tell you I was very inspired and y’all know my music is all about the journey. So, get ready, because we got ‘2097’. Prince had ‘1999,’ right? We have ‘2097’.”
When they announced the cancellation of the tour earlier this year, the trio – who split in 1997 to pursue solo careers – acknowledged they “hoped” to reschedule eventually but weren’t committing to anything definite.
They said in a statement: We anticipate and understand disappointment but our anniversary tour will not be able to happen.
“The continued Covid pandemic has made touring conditions difficult, and we want to make sure we keep our fans and ourselves healthy and safe.
“And idea sparked to honour and celebrate this 25th anniversary of The Score but we see now it may not currently be our time for revisiting this past work, We’re grateful for the special night we did get to share with some of you in New York, with that rare live moment.
“If opportunity, public safety, and scheduling allow, we hope to be able to revisit this again sometime soon. THANK YOU for all your love and support throughout the years.”