​Fugees reunite for surprise performance at Philadelphia music festival

Ms. Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras Michel made a surprise appearance on stage over the weekend at Philadelphia’s Roots Picnic festival.

The surprise Fugees reunion marked the trio’s first show since performing together in 2021 - and could be their last. It took place just over a month after the group’s long-running member Pras Michel was found guilty in a federal conspiracy court case.

Both Pras Michel and Wyclef Jean joined Lauryn Hill on stage for a six-song performance, which included Fugees classics ‘Killing Me Softly’, ‘Fu-Gee-La’, ‘Ready Or Not’ and ‘How Many Mics’.

Read this next: Fugees member Pras Michel testifies at federal conspiracy trial

The hip hop group were due to return to stage for a reunion tour in 2022 following the one-off reunion performance in New York in 2021, where they arrived three hours late.

Citing COVID restrictions, the group cancelled their world tour at the beginning of 2022. It was later alleged that the reunion tour was cancelled due to fronting member Pras Michel’s involvement in a $4.5 billion money laundering scheme.

In April, Rolling Stone reported that Michel was accused of accepting payments to further the interests of China and assist Malaysian billionaire Jho Low in gaining political connections in the US and attempting to influence the Obama and Trump administrations.

Read this next: Fugees musician Pras Michel found guilty in federal conspiracy court case

Despite pleading not guilty to federal charges of conspiracy or falsifying records, Michel was found guilty of all 10 criminal conspiracy charges he was facing in a Washington DC federal court, including witness tampering, failing to register as an agent in China, and conspiracy. It included “conspiring to make illegal campaign contributions using foreign funds”. Michel now faces years in prison, the BBC reported.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter