Pras Michél’s life story, from Fugees rapper to his conviction on federal conspiracy charges, will be the focus of an upcoming documentary produced by Mark Wahlberg.
The musician will participate in the film, the news of which comes just weeks after Michél’s latest sentencing hearing was delayed for a third time; Michél faces up to 22 years in prison after he was found guilty in 2023 of money laundering, illegal lobbying, witness tampering, and campaign finance violations for his role in a multimillion-dollar government influence campaign that involved the Obama and Trump administrations.
“Everyone is fascinated by all the twists and turns, like it’s some kind of thriller,” Michél told Variety of the documentary. “But for me, this is just my life — the real, messy, complicated truth of what I’ve been living through.”
The conspiracy case against Michel stemmed from the musician’s relationship with Malaysian financier Jho Low, who’s accused of embezzling at least $4.5 billion from the 1MDB Malaysian development fund. Michel was accused of helping Low run foreign-influence campaigns against the U.S., such as funneling money from Low to Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, as well as lobbying Donald Trump’s administration to drop an investigation into Low and extradite the dissident Chinese billionaire. Low remains an at-large fugitive.
Michél has continually maintained his innocence, telling Rolling Stone, “What benefit would I get trying to break laws? It’s not worth it to me. I’m like a pariah now. I’ve got friends who won’t talk to me because they think there’s a satellite in orbit listening to them.”
The documentary, produced by Wahlberg’s Unrealistic Ideas, will chart Michél’s musical legacy, from Fugees to “Ghetto Superstar,” as well as dive into his unexpected legal issues. “I’m rooting for Pras and excited to tell his story,” Wahlberg said. According to Variety, the documentary will also feature footage that Michél himself filmed on his cellphone, including his meeting with a since-executed Chinese official who took bribes.
Prosecutors in Michél’s case are seeking decades in prison for the Fugees rapper as well as a $64 million forfeiture, while the defense has asked for a 36-month sentence. Michél’s last two sentencing dates — in September and October — have been postponed after he underwent emergency surgery for colon cancer in August.
