Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Fu Gee La

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Released
  
December 13, 1995

Recorded
  
1995

Length
  
4:20

Format
  
CD single

Genre
  
Hip hop, Soul, Reggae

Label
  
Ruffhouse

"Fu-Gee-La" is a song by the Fugees. It was released in December 1995 as the lead single from their second album, The Score. The song, which was produced by Salaam Remi, contains a sample of "If Loving You Is Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Right" by Ramsey Lewis, and its chorus is based on "Ooo La La La" by Teena Marie. Several remixes of the song, including the "Refugee Camp Remix" and the "Sly & Robbie Remix", which features a young Akon, also appear on The Score. It is the highest-selling single from the Fugees, and has been certified gold by RIAA.

Contents

Background

Producer Salaam Remi discussed the song's conception: "We actually were working on a song for Spike Lee’s Clockers movie that actually, that song never came out. So we had a song that we did for Clockers, and then during that session, Wyclef was like, 'Yo, play that beat you did for Fat Joe!' And Lauryn was like, 'Yo, play the Fat Joe beat' and then when I played it, Clef jumped up and spit the first verse to 'Fu-Gee-La.' He had the verse, but it just fell all together and then we worked on it. That song was actually done prior to The Score, so a lot of The Score’s vibe was based around what that song was."

Music video

The music video for Fu-Gee-La was filmed in Jamaica. They wanted to recreate Jimmy Cliff's film The Harder They Come (1972). It follows a robbery-related concept, with each band member taking on a particular role. Oddly enough, at around 1:21, a hand, presumably the cameraman, pops up into the screen for a brief period of time to direct Lauryn Hill where to move.

Track listing

UK CD1
  1. "Fu-Gee-La" (Album Version) - 4:15
  2. "Fu-Gee-La" (North Side Mix) - 4:15
  3. "Fu-Gee-La" (Refugee Camp Remix) - 4:24
  4. "Fu-Gee-La" (Sly & Robbie Mix) - 5:33
  5. "Fu-Gee-La" (Wyclef's Global Acoustic Mix) - 4:18
  6. "Fu-Gee-La" (Fugi Acapella) - 4:08
UK CD2
  1. "Fu-Gee-La" (Album Version) - 4:15
  2. "Fu-Gee-La" (Album Instrumental) - 4:15
  3. "Fu-Gee-La" (Refugee Camp Remix) - 4:24
  4. "Fu-Gee-La" (Refugee Camp Instrumental) - 4:22
  5. "Fu-Gee-La" (North Side Mix) - 4:15
  6. "Fu-Gee-La" (Sly & Robbie Mix) - 5:33
  7. "How Many Mics" - 4:22

Charts

http://www.billboard.com/search/site/Fu-Gee-La

References

Fu-Gee-La Wikipedia
(Text) CC BY-SA