Why did Blunted on Reality flop?

JustCKing

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Killing Me Softly was still on the album.

So what and? Is this supposed to somehow diminish the other songs on the album and credit it solely for the album selling? If so, you might as well do the same for every album with a big single.
 

TripleAgent

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So what and? Is this supposed to somehow diminish the other songs on the album and credit it solely for the album selling? If so, you might as well do the same for every album with a big single.
No, I'm saying it was likely responsible for a chunk of the sales before it became a single. A LOT of women were buying the album not knowing the rest of it was rapping.
 

summwunn

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This is also a Salaam Remi remix.

He was keeping artists in their deals back then, with remixes. Crazy sh*t.

. .. if i remember right . . . the Super Cat joint and the Zhigge remix put him on the map . . .



 

DANJ!

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"Ready Or Not" was also a #1 single. The album was 3X Platinum by May 17, 1996. "Killin' Me Softly" was released as a single May 31, 1996.

Yeah, but "Killin Me Softly" was basically an instant hit before it was an official single... by May, everyone already knew that song- it was already getting radio play almost right after the album dropped. The single/video came late by comparison to how soon it had become huge.
 

JustCKing

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Yeah, but "Killin Me Softly" was basically an instant hit before it was an official single... by May, everyone already knew that song- it was already getting radio play almost right after the album dropped. The single/video came late by comparison to how soon it had become huge.

What's crazy is people acting as if nobody was bumpin the album joints, but this song was hot before it was a single.
 

Wacky D

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Yeah, but "Killin Me Softly" was basically an instant hit before it was an official single... by May, everyone already knew that song- it was already getting radio play almost right after the album dropped. The single/video came late by comparison to how soon it had become huge.


Nah

The video was out around the time the album dropped. Probably beforehand.
 

DANJ!

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Nah

The video was out around the time the album dropped. Probably beforehand.
Nah.

The video dropped around April/May. The only song off the album by Feb. 13th that had a video was "Fu-Gee-La". When the album dropped, radio stations started playing "Killing Me Softly" shortly afterward, well before it was officially out as a single. It was already a hit by the time the video dropped. Then, the "Cowboys" video came out in June, then "Ready Or Not" in August.
 
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Zero

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No, I'm saying it was likely responsible for a chunk of the sales before it became a single. A LOT of women were buying the album not knowing the rest of it was rapping.
You wasting time in here my breh

nikkas know damn well nobody cares about shyt like Zealots if it wasn't for the bars aimed at Jeru.

How Many Mics? :dead:
 

Amo Husserl

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Blunted on Reality sound like the other guys.
The Score sound like a Lauryn Hill-driven album.

Haven't listened to Blunted, listening to it now. Listened to The Score a handful of times. If Lauryn is singing and rapping over The Score, it make sense why it blew up in '96. After '94 having a singer on the hook seemed like it was starting to become the norm in hip-hop for mainstream buzz and success.

Illmatic dropped after Blunted in the same year. The Score dropped before IWW in the same year. If I Ruled the World dropped in '96, Fu-Gee-La dropped at the end of '95, so it look like Fugees adapted to the times and let Lauryn be the showcase on The Score. The other guys toned down how they were rapping, beats were mellower and more melodic for hip-hop after '94.

Both Illmatic, IWW, and The Score dropped on Columbia records proper. Blunted on Reality came out on a label Columbia was distributing... Columbia probably acquired their contract or put a bet on them 'cause of Lauryn's cross-over appeal from her acting. Fugees broke up and all three of them dropped solo albums on Columbia. A&R at Columbia probably saw the vision to make Lauryn the star and used The Score to showcase her.

Finishing Blunted on Reality, it's a historical piece but fell through the cracks in '94 compared to who dropped in the last quarter of '93 and whoever else dropped in '94. Sandwiched between 36 Chambers at the end of '93 and Hard to Earn and later llmatic in '94. Fugees had better product dropping Fu-Gee-La at the end of '95 and The Score in '96.

Edit: Nappy Heads remix sound like a hint for The Score.
 
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Wacky D

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Nah.

The video dropped around April/May. The only song off the album by Feb. 13th that had a video was "Fu-Gee-La". When the album dropped, radio stations started playing "Killing Me Softly" shortly afterward, well before it was officially out as a single. It was already a hit by the time the video dropped. Then, the "Cowboys" video came out in June, then "Ready Or Not" in August.


It definitely was on power 99 in the winter.

I'm pretty sure the video was out when fu-gee-la was still in rotation too, but i guess not.

It definitely was on the radio tho.
 
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