Pras

Born Prakazrel Michel in New Jersey, Pras Michel shared Haitian roots with his cousin Wyclef Jean and teamed with high-school classmate Lauryn Hill to launch the Tranzlator Crew rap outfit in 1987. After relocating to the United States, Wyclef began spending extensive time with Pras and joined the group shortly thereafter. The trio eventually adopted the name the Fugees, a reference to Haitian refugees, and secured a deal with Ruffhouse Records in 1993. Their 1994 debut Blunted on Reality sought to appeal to hardcore listeners, a direction that sat uneasily with the group’s own leanings, but the inclusive and innovative follow-up The Score became one of the best-selling rap albums ever, winning praise from both critics and fans.

Last among the Fugees to issue a solo album, Pras delivered his first individual recording in 1997, a cover of Eddy Grant’s ’80s hit “Electric Avenue” for the Money Talks soundtrack starring Chris Tucker. In 1998 he supplied “Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)” to the Bulworth soundtrack directed by Warren Beatty. Joined by Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Mya, the track rose to number three on the pop chart and number one on the R&B chart. Eager to assemble a full-length project, Pras solved the logistics of guest contributions by asking celebrities to leave messages on his answering machine. The resulting album Ghetto Supastar appeared in late 1998 and managed only two weeks inside the Top 100, a modest showing compared with the single. Early in 1999 he expanded song narratives from the album into a novel that carried the same title and negotiated an agreement with Madonna’s newly formed film production company to develop the story into a movie in which he would star.

He first reached the big screen in 1999 with a supporting villain part in Ben Stiller’s superhero comedy Mystery Men. Work then began on the Ghetto Supastar film, whose title later became Turn It Up. The movie reached theaters in summer 2000, two years after the hit single, and likewise underperformed. Pras was nevertheless scheduled to appear in Higher Ed and Full Contact, and he started recording a new album in late 2000 that finally surfaced in August 2005.