Ready or Not

While recording their second album, The Score, the Fugees nearly fell apart. Lauryn Hill left the group at one point, and Pras recalled that she agreed only to come to the studio and lay down a reference vocal for "Ready or Not", granting permission for her hook to be used but insisting certain people not be around. Midway through the bridge she began crying, stopped, and walked out. Months later she rejoined the group and re-recorded the hook in a five-hour session, but the band decided the original reference take could not be improved and kept it.

The song, built on a sample of Enya's "Boadicea" from 1987 and a chorus drawn from the Delfonics' "Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)", was released as the album's third single in Japan on September 1, 1996, and in the United Kingdom the next day. Enya considered suing over the sample, taken without her permission, because she appeared nowhere in the credits despite it being such a large part of the track. She reached an out-of-court settlement after deciding their music was not gangsta rap. Wyclef Jean, who suggested the Delfonics chorus, later said she gave them a pass. The group had been unaware of copyright clearance procedures.

The single topped the UK Singles Chart, following "Killing Me Softly", and reached the top ten in fifteen countries. It was not released commercially in the United States and so was ineligible for the Billboard Hot 100. The video, directed by Marcus Nispel, cost about 1.3 million dollars and featured helicopters, explosions, sharks, and chase scenes.