A Hip-Hop Icon’s Legal Saga Heads to the Screen

Pras Michel is popping his federal conviction and musical legacy right into a documentary, teaming up with Mark Wahlberg to inform the story behind his dramatic fall from Hip-Hop fame to a attainable 22-year jail sentence.

The former Fugees member is collaborating with Wahlberg’s manufacturing firm, Unrealistic Ideas, to develop a movie that traces his rise in music and his entanglement in one of many largest worldwide corruption circumstances in latest U.S. historical past. Unrealistic Ideas president Archie Gips can be producing the challenge.

“Everyone is fascinated by all the twists and turns, like it’s some kind of thriller,” Michel informed Variety. “But for me, this is just my life — the real, messy, complicated truth of what I’ve been living through.”

From Grammy Wins to Federal Charges

Michel, as soon as a part of the Grammy-winning trio the Fugees alongside Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean, was convicted in April 2023 on 10 felony counts. Charges embody conspiracy, witness tampering and working as an unregistered overseas agent for China.

At the middle of the case is Malaysian financier Jho Low, who stays a fugitive. Prosecutors allege Michel accepted hundreds of thousands from Low to affect U.S. politics, together with illegally contributing to Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential marketing campaign. Authorities additionally declare Michel tried to disrupt a Department of Justice investigation throughout Donald Trump’s administration.

Wahlberg Steps In to Produce

Wahlberg stated he’s keen to assist convey Michel’s story to the display. “I’m rooting for Pras and excited to tell his story,” Wahlberg stated in an announcement.

Gips described the story as “a surprising mix of pop culture and geopolitical intrigue that feels like a spy thriller come to life.” The documentary will discover Michel’s musical success, authorized downfall and his alleged position in serving to Low keep away from extradition whereas sustaining political affect within the U.S.

A Complicated Legacy

Michel’s authorized troubles started in 2019, when he was first charged in reference to the worldwide 1MDB scandal. The New York Times reported that the case uncovered a fancy internet of overseas cash, political donations and worldwide affect.

Before the courtroom drama, Michel helped form Hip-Hop historical past with the Fugees’ 1996 album The Score, which bought greater than 22 million copies worldwide and featured hits like “Killing Me Softly” and “Ready or Not.”

Michel’s sentencing date has not but been scheduled. The documentary, nonetheless in improvement, goals to present viewers a full image of his journey—from world stardom to federal courtroom.

Related