The newest Fugees music isn’t on a streaming service. It’s waiting at the other end of a phone call, and Selah Marley is the voice that picks up.
On Thursday, November 5, Ms. Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean launched Fugees Hopeline, a global interactive sonic artwork built with the public art platform CIRCA.
Marley, Hill’s daughter, narrates the call, which includes personal messages from her mother and Jean plus an exclusive listen to a new Fugees song.
The track opens with Jean in full hype mode. “No one should be sitting down right about now,” he shouts, before warning, “They’re coming!”
From there Hill slides into a rendition of Michael Jackson’s “I Wanna Be Where You Are.” Then a beat drops in and Clef takes the first verse with the line “Behind every strong man, there’s a strong woman.
The line works both ways. Callers can record their own stories and reflections on hope, which feed into a growing international audio archive billed as a “collective sonic portrait of life in 2026.”
In the US, the number is +1 (424) 7FUGEES, or 7384337 on a standard keypad. Fans abroad can reach it through WhatsApp with no international charges, and contributions stay open through December 31 before the line switches to listening only.
Hill and Jean pitched the project as a chance to flip the usual artist and audience relationship. “We’ve been able to connect with people from around the world through our music,” they said in a joint statement. “With Fugees Hopeline, we want to hear everyone else’s stories.”
There’s a commercial side too, and it isn’t cheap. Hill made three original collages layering photography, typography and archival imagery from the past three decades, including shots by B+ and Jonathan Mannion, sold only at circa.art/fugees.
The A2 editions carry signatures from both Hill and Jean, are limited to 500 per design, and cost £1,000 each or £2,500 for all three. Stamp signed A4 versions go for £200 each or £500 for the set.
The timing lines up with the road. Hill and Jean opened their US shows celebrating 30 years of The Score at Berkeley’s Greek Theatre on November 4, with Las Vegas, the Hollywood Bowl and Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena following over the next week.
Longtime fans will clock who isn’t on the bill. The Fugees reunion tour planned for 2024 was called off, and Pras Michel, the group’s third member, later sued Hill over it.
Some of the hotline recordings will soon get a physical home. Selected contributions will be shown at Miami Beach’s Faena Forum on December 4 and 5 during Art Basel, in an exhibition Hill is curating with Saint & Citizen.
Artnet reports the show will place fan voices next to “artwork and set design from the current tour.” More dates are still to be announced, and the line is open for anyone with something to say.
