Pras

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Pras
Pras at the 2015 Miami Film Festival
Background information
Birth name	Prakazrel Samuel Michel
Born	(1972-10-19) October 19, 1972 (age 48) New York City, U.S.
Origin	Irvington, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop soul reggae
Occupation(s)	Rapper singer songwriter producer actor
Years active	1989–present
Labels	Columbia Ruffhouse Guerrilla
Associated acts	Fugees Refugee Camp All-Stars

Prakazrel Samuel Michel (/ˈprɑːz/; born October 19, 1972) is a Haitian-American rapper, producer, songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the hip hop group Fugees, alongside Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill. After the Fugees, he is known for his Top 40 hit "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" from the film Bulworth and "We Trying to Stay Alive" with Jean and John Forté.

Early life[]

Born in Brooklyn, New York City and raised in Irvington, New Jersey, Pras cultivated an early interest in music. When he was 15, he met Lauryn Hill, while both attended Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey. In 1988, Pras introduced Lauryn to Wyclef Jean. Pras Michel, Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill began to rehearse under the guidance of Kool and the Gang's producer, Ronald Khalis Bell, and subsequently they formed a musical group called The Rap Translators in 1989 (also known as Tranzlator Crew.)

Career[]

Music[]

In 1994, before and during the time that The Fugees were recording their first album Blunted on Reality, under the supervision of Ronald Khalis Bell, Pras attended Rutgers University and Yale University, pursuing a double major in Philosophy and Psychology.^[1] In 1996, The Fugees achieved historic crossover success with The Score, which went multi-platinum. Pras has also forged a successful solo career, beginning with an international hit single from his first full-length solo LP, "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)", featuring Mýa and Ol' Dirty Bastard. "Ghetto Superstar" became a top ten single in 1999, and the eighth most played single; it earned Pras a performance at the World Music Awards. The hit single was included in the soundtrack for the film Bulworth. "Ghetto Supastar" spent eight weeks in the UK Top 5, peaking at No. 2 in July 1998,^[2] and reached US No. 15 a month later. "Blue Angels", from the same album, was a UK Top 10 hit, reaching No. 6 in November.^[2] Pras also featured on the track "Turn You On" by Swedish artist DeDe^[3] which was released in 2007. "Turn You On" was also written and produced by Pras Michél. After nine weeks on Sweden's single chart, it peaked at No. 2. He also featured "Pushin'" from the album Equalize by Swami, which was released in 2007.

Film[]

After his cameo debut in the 1999 feature film Mystery Men, Pras gained an interest in Hollywood. In 2000, Pras starred in the New Line film, Turn It Up. In early 2002, he appeared in the Sony and Urban World release Higher Ed, and Go for Broke in which he starred and produced. He also co-starred in three 20th Century Fox films in 2007. These included The Mutant Chronicles.

In 2006, Pras created Skid Row, Los Angeles, a documentary account of his nine-day experience posing as a homeless person living in downtown Los Angeles. Using a hidden camera, Pras captured the reality of homelessness. The film was produced by Teryn Fogel.^[4] Skid Row was released on August 24, 2007.^[5]

In 2009, Pras travelled to Somalia to film the documentary Paper Dreams which examines piracy off the African coast. During filming, pirates invaded the ship he was on, the MV Maersk Alabama, and took the captain of the ship hostage. Due to be released in 2014, the documentary remains unfinished due to a legal dispute.^[6]

In 2015, Pras completed a documentary, Sweet Micky For President, which chronicles the rise of Haitian musician Michel Martelly, through his election to fight corruption as President of Haiti, an election campaign that was strongly endorsed by Pras. The film had its World premiere at the 2015 Slamdance Film Festival.^[7]

Political activism[]

In 2013, Michel became a "top initial donor"^[8] to Organizing for Action, a political advocacy group formed by Obama associates in January 2013.^[9][10]

Legal problems[]

The United States Department of Justice indicted Michel on May 10, 2019, for his part in a criminal conspiracy that alleges, between June 2012 and November 2012, he aided in the illegal transfer of approximately $865,000 from foreign entities into the Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign as purportedly legitimate contributions, stolen from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).^[11][12] Ultimately it was alleged that $21 million in foreign campaign contributions was funneled into the 2012 US presidential election.^[12][13][14] to benefit political candidate "A". The Washington Post identified "Candidate A" as B. Obama.^[15]

In June 2021, Michel was charged by a federal grand jury for running a back-channel campaign to get the Trump administration to drop an investigation of Jho Low and the 1MDB investment company.^[16][17]

Discography[]

Albums[]

EPs[]

Singles[]

As lead artist[]

As featured artist[]

Acting and producing career[]

• Mystery Men (1999) – Tony C (credited as Prakazrel Michel)
• Turn It Up (2000) – Denzel/Diamond (credited as Pras Michel) (co-producer)
• Higher Ed (2001) – Ed Green (credited as Pras Michel) (executive producer)
• Go for Broke (2002) – Jackson/Jackie (credited as Pras Michel) (producer)
• Nora's Hair Salon (2004)
• Careful What You Wish For (2004) – Zen Salesman (credited as Pras Michel)
• Feel the Noise (2007) – Electric
• First Night (2007) – himself (producer)
• Skid Row (2007) – himself (producer)
• The Mutant Chronicles (2007) – Captain Michaels (producer)
• Paper Dreams (2010) – himself (producer)
• Sweet Mickey for President (2015) – himself (producer)

See also[]

• Jho Low^[32]
• Elliott Broidy^[32]

References[]

External links[]

• MTV artist page
• Pras at IMDb