Song · The Fugees
“Ready or Not” by The Fugees
From the album The Score (1996)
“Ready or Not” by The Fugees appears on 3 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 2021 and 2025. It was first released in 1996 on the album The Score. Its best result is #163 on the WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #403 of the '90s.
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Video from YouTube (TheFugeesVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Ready or Not" comes off The Score, the Fugees' second album, from 1996, and it's built on two borrowings: a sample of Enya's 1987 "Boadicea" and a chorus modeled on the Delfonics' "Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)". Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel all sing lead and share the writing credit with Thom Bell and William Hart, and Hill and Jean produced it.
It became the album's third single, but with no commercial release in the US it never qualified for the Hot 100. Britain made up for it, sending it to number one after "Killing Me Softly" and onto the list of 1996's biggest sellers, and it hit the top ten in fifteen countries. Marcus Nispel's video is often cited as the first rap clip with a seven-figure budget, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame put the song on its list of Songs That Shaped Rock.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 865 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
| 2023 | 389 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
| 2025 | 163 | WFPK | WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s | 500 |
Also listed as: Ready Or Not.
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