The Booga Basement: The birthplace of The Fugees
The Fugees remain an incredible outfit and have contributed an unfathomable amount to the advancement of hip-hop and neo-soul over the years. Comprised of Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Michel Pras, their 1996 sophomore album, The Score, became one of the highest-selling hip-hop projects of all time.
The collective were formed in Maplewood, New Jersey, where Hill and Pras went to high school, Pras suggested that his cousin, Wyclef Jean, become part of the group, which initially began as a band. Originally performing as The Tranzlator Crew, the first iteration of The Fugees band included Johnny Wise on drums, Ti Bass on guitar, and DJ Leon.
However, the story of their formation is far more interesting than it appears at first glance. During a 2021 appearance on Bacardi’s YouTube series Rum Talk, Fugees member Wyclef Jean detailed where the trio were first formed. Referencing Lauryn Hill’s old nickname, Jean recalled, “I was the person who would give everybody their swag name. L. Boogie [Lauryn Hill] She brought the boogie!”
He continued, “And at times, you hear about this place called the Booga Basement. So the Booga Basement was our recording studio in East Orange, New Jersey, and it was my uncle, Jerry [Wonda’s] father, and we literally were in a basement.”
He then proceeded to compare The Fugees to the late co-founder of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs, by rhetorically asking, “What do Steve Jobs and The Fugees have in common? He was working out of his garage, and we were working out of our basement, and in the basement, we formed ‘The Booga.’”
The Fugees operated out of the basement until the early ‘90s, when, in 1993, after playing concerts and building a buzz locally in New Jersey and New York, the group finally signed with a major record label—Ruffhouse.
Wyclef Jean learned how to produce alongside his cousin, Jerry “Wonda” Duplessis, in the Booga Basement. While speaking on Rum Talk, he revealed that he wanted to be like Dr Dre from an early age during the 1980s.
Elaborating on this, he recalled, “I always called myself the Haitian Dr Dre of my hood in the early days when I was watching N.W.A. I was like, ‘I’m going to be this guy!’” Little did Jean know that by the end of the next decade, he would be contributing to a classic— The Score.
The album was a global hit and is still loved by many. With songs such as ‘No Woman No Cry’ and ‘Killing Me Softly’, The Score debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and number two on the UK Albums Chart. The tracks were all produced by The Fugees themselves, spearheaded by Wyclef Jean from the Booga Basement.