killing me softly

Hip hop group The Fugees covered the song in 1996 on their album The Score, with Lauryn Hill singing the lead vocals. Their version, titled "Killing Me Softly," became a massive hit reaching number two on the U.S. airplay chart, and had similar success in the UK, reaching number one, becoming 1996's best selling single in the country. The version sampled the 1990 song "Bonita Applebum" by A Tribe Called Quest from their debut album People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. ATCQ temselves had sampled the riff from the song "Memory Band" found on the self-titled album of a little-known 1960s psychedelic soul Chicago band called Rotary Connection. The Fugees single was so successful that the track was 'deleted' and thus no longer supplied to retailers whilst the track was still in the Top 20 so that attention could be drawn to the next single 'Ready or Not'. Propelled by the success of the Fugees track, the version by Flack was remixed in 1996 and topped the Hot Dance Club Play chart. In 2008, it was ranked number 25 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop and #44 on it's list of the "100 Greatest Songs of the 90s".

[Verse: D2G] Yo, I remember Saturday mornings cleaning up in my room When V103 was blasting all the throwback tunes From Michael Jackson and Prince onto The Isleys That is til hip hop came with Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5 g They say its like a jungle sometimes, and made me wonder How a message so powerful kept me from going under Even spoke my first words thanks to Kool Moe Dee To learning all the Treacherous ways of OPP When Rakim was showing rappers how it should be done And to this day, his style is identical to none This was back when the music used to backset on the vibes Soundtrack to my life, was orchestrated A Tribe Called Quest.....I swear that this time was the best But these days the feeling's gone so now we settle for less So this is why I pen my feelings so these days ain't gone Word to (scratches) "6 mins 2G, YOU'RE ON" [Chorus: Chris Michael] Do you remember when music used to be all you need To bring you through anything It gave you hope for tomorrow, while reminiscing on memories I remember when music had the power to save my soul Back in the day Music set you free [Verse: Jovan Landry] See, now I remember when the golden age had Wu Tang, Nas and Kid and Play Assorted sounds in harmony And I can say, that I’m so blessed to be exposed to all these sounds That’s now embedded in my memory, cause that’s all I need To keep the culture going and flowing And steadily be owning the stage, like how they did at Arsenio What they did was so pivotal, everyone was so lyrical And now that I got it, their legacy is habitual See now, Ooh-la-la, I can recollect so vividly Killing me Softly was my was my favorite by The Fugees There used to be a strong woman presence in the industry Who would’ve known, how in the end it really mean to me Remember those who had passed away: Left Eye, Pun, Big and Pac, Big L, ODB, Phife, Jam Master Jay And because of y'all, you’re so legendary I remember all the all those rhymes, and the greatness you carried [Chorus: Chris Michael] Do you remember when music used to be all you need To bring you through anything It gave you hope for tomorrow, while reminiscing on memories I remember when music had the power to save my soul Back in the day Music set you free [Bridge: Chris Michael] In a time where we're so disconnected from reality Good music is the way back to unity It brings the love and peace And harmony we need Everytime your feeling down and out Take a second just to think about [Chorus: Chris Michael] Do you remember when music used to be all you need To bring you through anything It gave you hope for tomorrow, while reminiscing on memories I remember when music had the power to save my soul Back in the day Music set you free [Bass & Saxophone Solo] [Chorus: Chris Michael] Do you remember when music used to be all you need To bring you through anything It gave you hope for tomorrow, while reminiscing on memories I remember when music had the power to save my soul Back in the day Music set you free [Outro: Chris Michael] Unity, love and peace Is all we need I gotta have it (Repeat)