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Lauryn Hill was the target of a lawsuit from her Fugees bandmate, Pras Michél which alleges that the celebrated rapper and singer breached a contract that sank plans of a reunion tour among other claims. Lauryn Hill fired back with comments herself, shooting down Pras Michél’s claims immediately after.
Variety exclusively reports that Pras Michél filed the lawsuit on Tuesday (October 1) in federal court, alleging instances of fraud and a breach of contract in connection to a 2023 tour featuring all three members of the Fugees which includes Wyclef Jean.
From Variety:
In a scathing lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, Michél alleges that Hill grossly mismanaged the setup, marketing and budgeting of their scuttled 2023 tour, which “was actually a veiled and devious attempt to make a big score for herself,” the complaint states, adding that the singer then secretly siphoned off money from the tour guarantees. The full list of claims also include breach of fiduciary duty and refusal to permit an audit of the Fugees’ tour.
After the report was published, Lauryn Hill issued her version of events via a statement to the publication:
In a statement to Variety, Hill calls Michél’s suit “baseless” and “full of false claims and unwarranted attacks.” The Grammy-winning artist adds that Michél’s complaint, filed Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, omits that her former bandmate “was advanced overpayment for the last tour and has failed to repay substantial loans extended by myself as an act of goodwill.” (Michel’s suit does note that he did not make money on the 2023 tour that was canceled due to Hill’s vocal strain and instead is in the hole for $900,000 in unrecouped expenses.) In her statement, she adds that the 2024 tour, which was canceled by Live Nation days before it was scheduled to kick off, “was being planned whether the Fugees were involved or not.” (Michél’s suit claims that his and fellow co-founder Wyclef Jean’s involvement was a stipulation made by Live Nation.)
The publication examined the finer details of Michél’s lawsuit, with a claim stating that Hill turned down $5 million for the Fugees to perform at Coachella. The lawsuit adds the reason Hill shot down the offer was that No Doubt received top billing over the group.
The Fugees were set to hit the road earlier this summer but the tour was suddenly cancelled just days before it was set to kick off.
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Pras will be joining his Fugees brethren for a nationwide tour in support of Ms. Lauryn Hill’s 25th anniversary of her debut album. The rapper and businessman was recently spotted in California and was asked about the upcoming tour and if new music was on the horizon.
As reported exclusively by TMZ Hip Hop, Pras, real name Prakazrel Michel, was in Beverly Hills when a reporter from the outlet got in some questions regarding new music from himself or his Fugees brethren. The Haitian-American star was more focused on the upcoming tour in support of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill turning the big 25.
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According to the outlet, Pras learned about the band getting back together again via TMZ Hip Hop and is now focused on creating a good set for the fans that will come out in droves for sure.
The “Ghetto Superstar” artist is facing federal charges and while he was largely mum about the case, he did share with TMZ that he’s retained new counsel and is hoping for a positive outcome in the matter.
Check out the exchange below.
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Even though The Fugees enjoyed critical success, their story has yet to be formally told. Wyclef Jean says it is a bit too soon to do their biopic.
As spotted on TMZ, the Newark, New Jersey native was out and about in Manhattan on Monday, July 17 by NBC Studios. The celebrity gossip site had a reporter on site and got Wyclef to give some much needed updates on his career and his bandmates. Earlier this month, he appeared at the Essence Festival and hosted a panel about the importance of the Black community investing wisely, especially at a young age. “My retirement plan starts with my daughter and it’s important,” Wyclef declared.
During his on the spot interview, he clarified his statement saying he is not putting the microphone down just quite yet. “Am I retiring? Probably in five years. I think what happens is a company I’m working with, we’re talking about retirement” he said. “We are showing people how you have to prepare early and build generational wealth.” When asked about Pras post his recent guilty verdict. “What I can definitely tell you about Pras: he’s definitely in good spirits, 100% in good spirits.”
The “Gone Till November” talent also says that it is too early for a Fugees biopic film. “We would love to do a biopic, but it’s still ongoing right now. There is still so much to talk about. It would be amazing but the story is still going on,” he explained. You can see Wyclef discuss matters below.
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Over the weekend, The Roots Picnic out in Philadelphia was making noise for some of its surprise sets such as the reunion of State Property, but fans in attendance were really taken aback when Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras reunited to become The Fugees one more time.
According to TMZ, the multiplatinum rap group put the band together for what could be the last time this past Saturday (June 3) during The Roots Picnic Music Festival and while on stage performed “Ready or Not” much to the delight of the surprised crowd.
Though it’s not clear if they went into their illustrious catalog of hits, their mere presence was enough reason to celebrate as the group hasn’t been on the same stage for quite some time and may not get a chance to do so for again as Pras is facing up to two decades in prison of conspiracy for defrauding the United States.
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of her classic album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, L-Boogie was doing her thing on stage before Wyclef and Pras eventually joined her and got the crowd rowdy and rocking.
TMZ reports:
Sounds like the show went off without a hitch, and the festival’s key organizer — Questlove — was certainly grateful. He took to IG with a throwback post of one of The Fugees’ first gigs, noting this may well be one of the final times they join forces like this in this setting.
He wrote, “@MsLaurynHill did us a solid by letting us not only letting us celebrate with her the classic #MiseducationOfLaurynHill but she also made a moment by bringing together her bredren @WyclefJean & @PrasMichel … I’m giving all the gratitude for making this miracle of a night happen.”With OG artists from the golden era like Nas and Wu-Tang Clan going on tour, hopefully, The Fugees can put something together for their day-ones before Pras is eventually sentenced and taken out of the picture.Check out another video of their time on stage below and let us know in the comments if you’d like to see a Fugees tour come to your city.https://twitter.com/Philly_PR_Girl/status/1665209280184700928
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Pras is fighting one of the most high profile cases this year. So high profile that Leonardo DiCaprio has testified at the trial.
As spotted on Digital Music News The Fugees member is facing some very serious charges. The Department Of Justice alleges that in 2012 he aided in the transferring millions of dollars in donations to the Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign. The DOJ says that the funds were disguised at legitimate contributions to help the then democrat win the race but in actuality the monies were stolen from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad via Malaysian financier Jho Low.
On Monday, April 3 the critically acclaimed actor took the stand to detail his dealings with Low throughout the years. “He had a multitude of different parties,” he revealed. “Some of them were on boats. Some were at nightclubs, dinners”. Low also made contributions to get Wolf Of Wall Street made to which the thespian had to answer to. But to hear Leo tell it; it was Low’s team who he dealt with when it came to matters of any financing. “My understanding was I was given the green light by my team, as well as the studio, to accept financing from Mr. Low”.
Leonardo DiCaprio says he has been social with Pras since meeting him backstage at a concert years back. Pras had pled not guilty to the charges and his lawyer is David Kenner; the same legal eagle who represented Suge Knight, 2Pac, Death Row Records and now reportedly represents Tory Lanez.
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Pras is finally speaking up regarding some charges he is facing. He denies being apart of a international financial conspiracy.
As spotted on Vulture The Fugees founding member is claiming he had no parts of one of the world’s most infamous scandals. In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg Business Week Magazine he gives his side of the story that in essence reads likes a James Bond spy caper. He says back in 2017 he was summoned to a midtown Manhattan hotel for a secret meeting with Sun Lijun, China’s vice minister of public security.
His account is that he formed a relationship Jho Low, a Malaysian fugitive businessman. The federal authorities claim Pras eventually started funneling Low’s money which reportedly included funds being donated to Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign (a crime for a foreign national). But Low had allegedly been embezzling funds from the Malaysian fund 1MDB and the feds soon came for the “How Many Mics” rapper and seized a whopping $95 million dollars from him.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted Pras on May 10, 2019, for his part in an alleged criminal conspiracy with Low. In June 2021, Pras 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. He was also accused of advocating for the extradition of a Chinese dissident, Guo Wengui, from the United States.
Pras has refused a plea deal. His trial will start March 27.
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