Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill.

The trio soon changed musical direction, and released its first hip-hop LP, Blunted on Reality, under the guidance of Kool and the Gang's producer Ronald Bell.

[20] Though Blunted on Reality spawned the three singles "Boof Baf", "Vocab", and "Nappy Heads", they struggled to gain mainstream attention despite earning plaudits for its artistic quality and innovative use of samples.

The Fugees first gained attention for its cover versions of old favorites, with the group's reinterpretations of "No Woman No Cry" by Bob Marley & the Wailers and "Killing Me Softly with His Song" (first recorded by Lori Lieberman in 1971, remade by Roberta Flack in 1973), the latter being their biggest hit.

The Fugees won two 1997 Grammy Awards with The Score (Best Rap Album) and "Killing Me Softly" (Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group).

[28] In 1997, the Fugees were featured on the song "Hip-Hopera" by Bounty Killer, which spent five weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while peaking at number 81.

[29] The group also recorded the song "Rumble in the Jungle" featuring Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest & John Forté, for the 1996 documentary When We Were Kings.

[30] Later that year, the Fugees all began solo projects: Hill began writing and producing for a number of artists (including Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige) and started work on her critically acclaimed The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill; Jean also began producing for a number of artists (including Canibus, Destiny's Child and Carlos Santana) and released his debut album Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival; Pras, with Mýa and Ol' Dirty Bastard, recorded the single "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" for the soundtrack to the film Bulworth.

In 1998, they reunited to shoot a music video for the song "Just Happy to Be Me" which appeared in the Sesame Street special Elmopalooza, and also on the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack album.

[31] The three Fugees reunited and performed on September 18, 2004, at the concert in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn featured in the film Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2004), headlining a star-studded bill that included Kanye West, Mos Def, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, The Roots, Talib Kweli, Common, Big Daddy Kane, Dead Prez, Cody ChesnuTT and John Legend.

[32] The Fugees made their first televised appearance in almost ten years at BET's 2005 Music Awards on June 28, opening the show with a twelve-minute set.

The group had been scheduled to play at the Hammersmith Apollo on November 25, 2005; however, it was forced to move the gig to December due to production issues.

Later that month, a new track called "Foxy" was leaked, a song dubbed the "real return of the Fugees" by several online music blogs.

[38] In August 2007, a year after the group's second disbandment, Pras stated, "Before I work with Lauryn Hill again, you will have a better chance of seeing Osama bin Laden and [George W.] Bush in Starbucks having a latte, discussing foreign policies, before there will be a Fugees reunion".

[45][46] The Fugees also turned their recording studio, the Booga Basement, into a transitional house for young Haitian refugees immigrating to the United States.

[49] The tour was rescheduled and set to begin in August 2024 but was quietly canceled three days before the first show, with no reason given to customers receiving refunds.

"[57] While Matthew Ismael Ruiz of Pitchfork, noted the group for removing negative connotations of Haitian immigration and the word 'Refugee',[58] stating that "The Fugees managed to diversify the voice of the ghetto, one often depicted in a single dimension.

They reclaimed pride for Haitians worldwide, a heritage maligned for its postcolonial poverty and strife but still remembered as the setting for the new world’s first successful revolt of enslaved people against their oppressors.

"[59] The Ringer noted that the Fugees delivered political messages and brought hip hop to the mainstream in their music by blending elements of pop, soul, dancehall and Caribbean music, making it more palpable for a wider audience without making the message dense, stating "the Fugees disguised resistance as art, the same way that enslaved Africans once hid martial arts from their colonial masters by pretending that they were a dance.

Together, by juxtaposing live instrumentation, soulful melodies and abstract bars, The Fugees gave hip-hop a renewed spirit and propelled it to a different kind of mainstream".

[63][64] Multiple recording artists have cited the Fugees as an influence, including Bono,[65] Drake,[66] Kanye West,[67] Akon,[68] Black Eyed Peas,[69] Young Thug,[70] Bridgit Mendler,[71] Sean Kingston,[72] Ava Max,[73] Doja Cat,[74] Bastille,[75] The Kid Laroi,[76] Post Malone,[77] DJ Khaled,[78] and Diplo.