Pras
As a founding member of the Fugees, he helped craft a hip-hop album that redefined global music and sold over 20 million copies.
Born 1972 (age 54)·American rapper·Birthday: October 19·Generation X
Biography
Prakazrel 'Pras' Michel emerged from New Jersey's vibrant Haitian-American community to become one-third of a group that would temporarily rule the world. With childhood friends Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill, he formed the Fugees, a crew that blended hip-hop, soul, and reggae with sharp social commentary. While Hill and Jean often took the vocal spotlight, Pras was the group's foundational anchor, contributing key verses and the conceptual glue. Their 1996 album 'The Score' was a cultural earthquake, its sophisticated sound and crossover appeal making hip-hop palatable to a vast, mainstream audience without sacrificing its edge. After the group's hiatus, Pras pursued a solo career and acting, but his legacy remains inextricably tied to that mid-90s moment when the Fugees proved rap could be both intellectually formidable and universally beloved.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Pras was born in 1972, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Pras Was Born
The biggest hits of 1972
#1 Movie
The Godfather
Best Picture
The Godfather
#1 TV Show
All in the Family
Pras's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1972Born
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1977Started school
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1985Became a teenager
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1988Could drive
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1990Could vote
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
1993Turned 21
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2002Turned 30
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2012Turned 40
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2022Turned 50
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
2026Age 54 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Co-founded the Fugees, whose 1996 album 'The Score' won two Grammy Awards and sold over 20 million copies worldwide.
- Released the global solo hit 'Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)' featuring Mya and Ol' Dirty Bastard in 1998.
- Earned a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album as a performer on the Fugees' 'The Score'.
Did You Know?
He is the cousin of his Fugees bandmate, Wyclef Jean.
Pras studied at Rutgers University before dedicating himself fully to music.
His solo hit 'Ghetto Supastar' was featured on the soundtrack for the film 'Bulworth.'
“We took hip-hop and made it a global refugee camp.”
