Watch Fugees host surprise reunion at Lauryn Hill gig

4 June, 2023

Fugees

Fugees hosted a surprise reunion as part of a Ms. Lauryn Hill gig in Philadelphia last night (June 2) – see what went down below.

Hill was playing a set as part of The Roots‘ festival The Roots Picnic, performing her classic album ‘The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill’ in full to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

As well as The Roots serving as Hill’s backing band for the performance, she was then joined by Fugees bandmates Pras Michel and Wyclef Jean to perform six tracks including ‘Killing Me Softly’, ‘Ready Or Not’ and ‘Zealots’.

The unexpected mini-reunion came after the band cancelled their planned 25th anniversary tour in January 2022, with Pras Michel then convicted for his involvement in a billion-dollar Malaysian money laundering scheme in April.

The group said at the time of the cancellation that the “continued Covid pandemic has made touring conditions difficult, and we want to make sure we keep our fans and ourselves healthy and safe,” though reports had emerged that the dates were in jeopardy due to Michel’s legal issues, with the Department of Justice confirming that Michel’s passport was handed over as a result of the case.

See footage from the Philadephia reunion below.

On April 26, a jury found Michel guilty of 10 federal counts, including campaign finance violations, money laundering, illegal lobbying, witness tampering, and lying to banks. The 50-year-old rapper, producer, songwriter and actor faces up to 20 years in prison.

As reported previously, the case involved fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho (aka Jho Low). Jho had been accused of masterminding the theft of some USD$4.5billion from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund known as 1 Malaysia Development Berhad. Low has long denied any wrongdoing.

Michel is said to have rejected a deal that would have allowed him to plead guilty to an obstruction of justice charge and the lesser violation of failing to register as a foreign agent.

Under those terms, Michel would have served 16 months in prison. The government would have also returned some of the roughly $40million that was seized from Michel’s accounts which it believes rightly belonged to Malaysia. He has yet to be sentenced.

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