Pras

This article is about the musical artist. For other uses, see PRAS.

Pras
Pras at the 2015 Miami International Film Festival
Pras at the 2015 Miami International Film Festival
Background information
Birth namePrakazrel Samuel Michel
Born (1972-10-19) October 19, 1972 (age 52)
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
OriginIrvington, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Years active1989–present
Labels
Member ofFugees

Prakazrel Samuel Michel (born October 19, 1972), known professionally as Pras (/ˈprɑːz/), is an American rapper and record producer. He is best known as a member of the hip hop group Fugees, which he formed with fellow New Jerseyans Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill in 1990.

As a solo act, he signed with Columbia Records in 1996 and earned two top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 with his 1997 single "Avenues" (with Refugee Camp All-Stars featuring Ky-Mani Marley) and his Grammy Award-nominated 1998 single, "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" (featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard and Mýa). The latter was released for the Warren Beatty film Bulworth (1998), while both preceded the release of his debut studio album, Ghetto Supastar (1998).

He also collaborated with Jean and rock band Queen on the 1998 remix of "Another One Bites the Dust", which reached the top five on the UK Singles Chart. In 2017, he won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Digital Daytime Drama Series for his work as a producer on the web series The Bay.

In 2019, he began to face legal issues when he was charged with criminal conspiracy for alleged illegal donations to President Barack Obama's 2012 presidential re-election campaign[1][2] and lobbying the Trump administration to deter investigations into the 1MDB scandal involving fugitive Malaysian businessman Jho Low.[3] On April 26, 2023, Pras was found guilty of 10 criminal counts in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.[4][5][6][7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stack-Charged was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "'Pras' Michel trial sees former rapper in court for vast 'influence scheme'". BBC. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  4. ^ Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (October 12, 2022). "Fugees' Pras Gets New Trial Date in Criminal Conspiracy Case". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  5. ^ "Businesswoman Sentenced for Facilitating Unregistered Lobbying Campaign in Exchange for Approximately $3 Million". Justice.gov. January 19, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  6. ^ Lybrand, Holmes (April 26, 2023). "Ex-Fugees rapper Pras Michel found guilty in scheme to help China influence US government". CNN.
  7. ^ Whitehurst, Lindsay (April 26, 2023). "Fugees rapper Pras found guilty of political conspiracy". Associated Press News. Retrieved April 28, 2023.