Facing Decades in Prison, Fugees’ Pras Michél Speaks Out in First Post-Conviction Interview: ‘Never Wanted to Be a Spy’

How did Fugees member Pras Michél go from being a former member of one of the most beloved hip-hop trios of the 1990s to facing two decades in prison? Slowly, then, it seems, all at once. In a new interview with Variety magazine — his first since a jury convicted him on 10 counts last April in an illegal lobbying case — the 52-year-old MC described his entanglement in one of the world’s largest-ever financial scandals. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “I don’t know if subconsciously it was a bit exciting for me too. I like spy movies, but I never wanted to be a spy,” said Michél about his role in an influence peddling scandal that wound up with him convicted on charges of violating campaign finance laws during President Obama’s 2012 re-election bid, as well as illegally lobbying the Trump administration in 2017; Michél is facing up to 22 years in federal prison at his January sentencing hearing. Trending on Billboard “I don’t think that’s sexy. But a part of it felt like that,” he said. The article opens with a spy novel-worthy scene — based on firsthand accounts and...