Fugees Reunite During Lauryn Hill Performance Amid Member’s Impending Prison Sentence

An iconic group has reunited once more. The Fugees have attempted a couple of reunion tours over the past few years, something they had previously indicated wouldn’t happen, in connection with the band’s 25th anniversary of the release of The Score. A tour was announced in September 2021 and then supposedly canceled due to new COVID outbreaks. Although there were reports of low ticket sales at the time, the official story was that they wanted to do the tour properly and not put people at risk. It was only a couple of months later that plans for a Fugees reunion tour were put on hold for the indefinite future due to the involvement of Fugees member Pras Michel in the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad scandal.

Earlier this year, Michel was found guilty of a number of federal crimes stemming from his association with Malaysian businessman Jho Low, who was attempting to influence American political figures on behalf of the Chinese government. Michel is being charged with “conspiracy to defraud the U.S., witness tampering, and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.” He has not yet been sentenced, but he is facing up to 20 years in prison, according to CNN. At the Roots Picnic music festival this weekend, there was a lot of excitement due to the fact that the Fugees were all reunited onstage, but this could be the final time they performed together. The headline show for the evening was Lauryn Hill, but she brought Michel and Wyclef Jean onto the stage for a six-song set which included songs like “Killing Me Softly” and “Fu-Gee-La,” among other hits, according to Deadline. 

There have been no announcements from the Fugees regarding their future plans for evident reasons. However, there is a chance that Wyclef Jean and Hill could tour on their own at some point in the future. The show’s producer, Questlove, wrote on Instagram, “In 1993 an unknown band called the Fugees (at the request of the record label i interned at @ruffhouserecords) opened up for us at #TheTrocodero in Philadelphia—-this was one of their first gigs since signing to a major label. They were there to help us celebrate our signing to @geffenrecords. Their #BluntedOnReality got released in early 93. We got our deal in Dec 93 & man…..Now 30 years later & look at us now. What a journey. @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 ……in what could possibly be one of the last times we will see this institution together in this setting..”