Pras

Birthday

Oct 19, 1972

Birthplace

Haiti

Bio: Prakazrel Samuel Michel, known as Pras, is a Grammy Award-winning American rapper, actor, producer, and member of the hip hop trio The Fugees, considered one of the most influential groups of the 1990s for their album The Score.
Born in Haiti and raised in Brooklyn, New York and South Orange, New Jersey, Pras cultivated an early interest in music. When he was… More Bio: Prakazrel Samuel Michel, known as Pras, is a Grammy Award-winning American rapper, actor, producer, and member of the hip hop trio The Fugees, considered one of the most influential groups of the 1990s for their album The Score.
Born in Haiti and raised in Brooklyn, New York and South Orange, New Jersey, Pras cultivated an early interest in music. When he was fifteen, Pras met 12-year-old Lauryn Hill, a talented singer whose star potential Pras recognized early on. In 1988, Pras introduced Lauryn to his "cousin", Wyclef Jean, and subsequently formed a musical group called the Tranzlator Crew. The group soon changed its name to The Fugees, as a tribute to the many Haitian refugees desperately crossing the ocean to the United States.
Before and during the time that The Fugees were recording their first album, Blunted on Reality, Pras attended Rutgers College and Yale University, pursuing a double major in philosophy and psychology. In 1996, The Fugees achieved historic crossover success with The Score, which went multi-platinum. To date, the Fugees retain the title of best-ever selling hip-hop group, with sales reaching over 30 million albums. Pras has also forged a successful solo career.
After his cameo debut in the 1999 film, "Mystery Men", Pras focused his energy on Hollywood. In 2000, Pras starred in the New Line film, "Turn It Up". In early 2002, he appeared in the Sony/Urban World release "Higher Ed", and "Go For Broke", in which he starred and produced. He is co-starring in three 20th Century Fox films, to be released in 2007-2008 (he will receive producing credit on two of those films). Pras recently finished the film, "The Mutant Chronicles".
In 2006, Pras created "Skid Row", a hard-hitting documentary account of his nine-day experience posing as a homeless person living in downtown Los Angeles. Using a hidden camera, Pras captured the devastating reality of homelessness, with first-person stories that are heart-rending and vivid. Skid Row was released in August 2007.