Wyclef Jean has compared the Fugees to The Grateful Dead after confirming the group would be rescheduling their reunion tour.

The hugely influential hip-hop group – Ms. Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel – announced in September 2021 that they would reunite for a 2021 world tour celebrating 25 years of their classic 1996 album ‘The Score’.

Unfortunately, they were forced to postpone the dates and eventually cancelled them altogether due to varying COVID restrictions in the cities they were set to play.

Speaking to HipHopDX about the rescheduled dates, he said: “All I could do is tell you that with the Fugees, I’m very excited and I look forward to it getting rescheduled. I look forward. As a fan of the Fugees, I’m very excited. All I could do is just tell all the fans, do not lose hope, because y’all know we the Hip Hop Grateful Dead. We going to get this thing cracking [laughs].”

Elsewhere in the interview, he discussed his next solo album ‘2097’, which would be his first full-length since 2019’s ‘Wyclef Goes Back to School Volume 1’.

“The new album is going to be called 2097, and in the next couple of weeks, we’ll be putting out the first single from 2097,” he said. “I need y’all to go back with me. Go to ‘AfriCali.’ I need y’all to Google, go back to 1990.”

That moment when @MsLaurynHill showed up as my surprise guest last night @essencefest – This is what it sounds like when a true G.O.A.T enters the arena! #essencefest #thecarnival pic.twitter.com/INMhgTm5HP

— Wyclef Jean (@wyclef) July 3, 2022

He continued: “This is four years before the Fugees, so the first song I ever put out were the house music records. It was a house song because back then, we used to dance a lot and we loved house music because of how it made people feel in the clubs.

“All I can do is tell you I was very inspired and y’all know my music is all about the journey. So, get ready, because we got 2097. Prince had ‘1999,’ right? We have 2097.”

On Friday night (July 1), Lauryn Hill made a surprise guest appearance during Wyclef Jean‘s set at Essence festival, joining him to perform four Fugees songs.

Hill appeared about half an hour into Jean’s set at the New Orleans event, with the two launching into their famous cover of Lori Lieberman’s ‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’, ‘How Many Mics’, ‘Fu-Gee-La’ and ‘Ready Or Not’.