Pras Says He’s Frustrated ‘For the Fans’ After Fugees Tour Cancellation: ‘I Was Both Surprised and Not Surprised’
The rapper also clarified that his recent "Bar Mitzfa" track was "not" meant as a diss, but just an attempt as "speaking my truth."
Pras Michel, Lauryn Hill, and Wyclef Jean of The Fugees perform during the 2023 The Roots Picnic at The Mann on June 3, 2023. in Philadelphia.
First things first: Pras Michel wants to make it very clear that his recent hard-hitting track “Bar Mitzfa” was not meant as a diss on his Fugees bandmate Lauryn Hill after she abruptly cancelled their highly anticipated reunion tour.
“You’re family, you have internal disagreements, but it’s not going to be on a level where I’m dissing her — that doesn’t make any sense,” Pras told Vulture about the song he dropped last week in which he appeared to lay the blame for the tour’s meltdown squarely on the trio’s mercurial frontwoman. “No one will remember: click bait beefs, how many Gucci bags you owned, bogus excuses/ People will remember: How you made them feel, if you kept your word, if they could count on you, if you come on Time!!!”, he rapped on the tune.
The track came after the group’s planned tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hill’s groundbreaking debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, was scotched just before its August 9 kick-off date, with Hill citing “sensationalism” by the media over past cancellations as a contributing factor to what she said were low ticket sales.
“Artistically speaking, sometimes we say things because that’s how we express ourselves,” Pras continued about his musical response to the situation. “This track is me speaking my truth. When I was writing the record, those lines just came out. That was actually the last bars that came: ‘Don’t blame me, blame her, she made the mess.’ It sounded hot! I needed something to rhyme with mess, and I was like, Damn, do I put [third Fugees member] Wyclef in this?”
Pras said “everyone’s frustration has been building up” about the cancellation of the tour, noting that “this is not something that just happened overnight.” The MC added that his frustration was for the fans who bought tickets and were disappointed by the 11th-hour announcement.
“They are paying their hard-earned money to see you,” he said. For example, we did Global Citizen in 2021 and they were gracious enough to let us play at another location because they knew that Lauryn could be late and it’s live. They were like, go film it and then we’ll just inject it into whatever segment of the show that we’re projecting. She was three hours late. It was raining. We had fans whose cars were getting towed. The mayor had to reimburse some of the towing. He’s a fan of the Fugees too; he felt bad… We’re going on almost three decades of our existence, individually and as a group. To have people still interested in wanting to come see you, man, you have to be grateful.”
And though Hill has a history of taking to the stage late and calling off shows unexpectedly, given the group’s three-decade history together, Pras said there is undoubtedly “magic” when the three of them hit the stage. “No matter what we’re going through, individually or collectively, when we get on that stage and start performing, it’s euphoric,” Pras said. “It brings back the innocence of when we were kids. I’ve known Lauryn Hill since she was 11 years old, and Clef way before that. But there’s obviously reservation. We don’t even ask her if she’s gonna be on time anymore; we say, ‘How late is she going to be?’ It gets to a point that you say, is it even really all worth it?”
Pras said he was both “surprised and not surprised” the tour was cancelled after the 20 shows the reunited group were scheduled to play in 2023 were reduced to 10. The planned 21-date Miseducation Anniversary Tour was previously postponed in November after Hill said she was struggling with vocal issues. “As many of you may know, I’ve been battling serious vocal strain for the past month. I made it through each show by taking prescribed prednisone, but this can be detrimental to the body when taken in large amounts over long periods of time,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. “In order to prevent any long term negative affect on my voice and my body, I need to take time off to allow for real vocal recovery so that I can discontinue the medication completely.”
Asked what the group’s friend dynamic is off stage, Pras said they communicate “sometimes,” describing himself as the “Bobby Brown of the group.” He noted that he communicates with Wyclef Jean more than Hill, but that they all talk on WhatsApp.
While the U.S. dates were cancelled, Pras was non-committal when asked if he was looking forward to the European dates, which at press time were slated to kick off on Oct. 7 with a show in Dublin, Ireland, according to Hill’s official site; Ticketmaster and Live Nation’s site currently list different European kick-off dates. “It’s a loaded question. I’m always going to love to perform. I feel like when we’re onstage, nothing can stop us,” he said. “The thing that I don’t want to do is be inconsiderate to the fans… I don’t want to be a part of something that’s not going to be able to reciprocate the appreciation and gratitude.” Vulture noted that Pras’ ability to travel outside the United States is currently limited due to his conviction in 2023 of conspiracy and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.
