Ready or Not (Fugees song)

"Ready or Not"
Single by Fugees
from the album The Score
Released	August 29, 1996
Format	CD single
Recorded	1995
Genre	Hip hop
Length	3:47
Label	Ruffhouse
Writer(s)	Nelust Wyclef Jean, Samuel Prakazrel Michel, Lauryn Hill, William Hart, Thomas Bell, Enya, Nicky Ryan, Roma Ryan
Producer(s)	Nelust Wyclef Jean, Samuel Prakazrel Michel, Lauryn Hill, Jerry Duplessis
Fugees singles chronology
"Killing Me Softly" (1996) "Ready or Not" (1996) "No Woman, No Cry" (1996)

"Ready or Not" is a song by the American hip hop group Fugees, from their second studio album The Score (1996). The song contains a sample of "Boadicea" by Enya, and its chorus is based on "Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)" by The Delfonics. While "Ready or Not" was a minor hit in the Fugees' native United States, the song was most successful in Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom, where it topped the charts. It remained at that position for two weeks, becoming their second chart-topping single of 1996 in Britain, following Killing Me Softly.^[1] Singer Enya was prepared to sue the group for copyright infringement, because she had not permitted the group to sample the song "Boadicea", from her 1986 album Enya. She eventually settled out of court.

Barack Obama listed this as his favourite song.^[2] The song is used from the theatrical trailer of the film Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.

Video

Vibe reported that the Fugees' “Ready or Not” video helped usher in the era of bank-breaking, movie-like hip hop videos. The video featured helicopters, explosions, sharks, chase scenes, and a price tag of 1.3 million dollars. In justifying the cost, Pras told Vibe “People want to see drama, man. You figure: A kid pays sixteen dollars for your CD. Let him see a good video." ^[3]

Other versions

• Original song and its other versions Ready Or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)
• The song was covered by British-Dutch house music artist The Course. It charted at number five on the UK Singles Chart in April 1997.^[4]
• The Fray did a cover of this song in their album Scars & Stories.
• Meek Mill remixed this song on his mixtape Dreamchasers 2.
• Aphrodite (artist) sampled the chorus on his jungle track "Ready Or Not".
• Lil' Kim sampled the chorus on "Whenever You See Me" from her mixtape Hardcore 2K14.

Track listing

UK CD1

1. "Ready Or Not" (Radio Version) - 3:47
2. "Ready Or Not" (Salaam's Ready For The Show Remix) - 4:24
3. "Ready Or Not" (Handel's Yaard Vibe Mix) - 4:41
4. "The Score" - 4:32

UK CD2

1. "Ready Or Not" (Album Version) - 3:50
2. "How Many Mics" - 4:23
3. "Freestyle" - 5:03
4. "Blame It On The Sun" - 5:41

Charts

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[5]	24
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6]	17
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7]	6
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[8]	6
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[9]	2
Germany (Official German Charts)[10]	8
Ireland (IRMA)	2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11]	3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12]	8
Norway (VG-lista)[13]	8
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14]	3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15]	23
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[16]	1
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[17]	22

References

1. The Fugees UK chart info Chartstats.com. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
2. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyharnden/4899687/Top_10_favourite_songs_of_Barack_Obama_and_John_McCain_/
3. Gimme the Loot Vibe, February 1998
4. The Course UK chart info Chartstats.com. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
5. "Australian-charts.com – Fugees – Ready or Not". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
6. "Austriancharts.at – Fugees – Ready or Not" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
7. "Ultratop.be – Fugees – Ready or Not" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
8. "Ultratop.be – Fugees – Ready or Not" (in French). Ultratop 50.
9. "Fugees: Ready or Not" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
10. "Musicline.de – Fugees Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
11. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Fugees search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
12. "Charts.org.nz – Fugees – Ready or Not". Top 40 Singles.
13. "Norwegiancharts.com – Fugees – Ready or Not". VG-lista.
14. "Swedishcharts.com – Fugees – Ready or Not". Singles Top 100.
15. "Swisscharts.com – Fugees – Ready or Not". Swiss Singles Chart.
16. "Archive Chart: 1996-09-21" UK Singles Chart.
17. "Fugees – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Fugees.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics