The hip-hop trio, fronted by Lauryn Hill, rose to fame in the 1990s with hits like “Killing Me Softly With His Song” and “Ready or Not”

NEED TO KNOW

• In the 1980s, Lauryn Hill, Pras Michel and Wyclef Jean formed what would become the Fugees
• The hip-hop trio found success with hits like “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” “Fu-Gee-La” and “Ready or Not”
• Despite winning two Grammys for the 1996 album The Score, the Fugees never reunited to produce another record

The Fugees changed the game when they released their Grammy-winning sophomore album The Score in 1996.

The hip-hop trio, consisting of Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel, released the iconic LP following their 1994 debut Blunted on Reality — and those would become the only two albums their fans got to hear.

Their remake of Roberta Flack’s 1973 version of “Killing Me Softly With His Song” would earn a Grammy for Best R&B Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocal. Other chart-toppers like “Fu-Gee-La” and “Ready or Not” dominated the airwaves in the mid-to-late 1990s and led to the group winning another Grammy for Best Rap Album.

Eventually, the group disbanded to pursue solo careers. Exactly why the Fugees broke up remains unclear and the group experienced some public feuding as they split.

Despite their tumultuous past, the beloved group has reunited a few times over the years. The Fugees took the stage for a surprise medley at the 2005 BET Awards and released their single “Take It Easy” later that year. (Hill and Jean also came together to close out the 2024 BET Awards.)

Multiple tours were scheduled in the 2020s, and they even performed a pre-taped set for Global Citizen Live 2021; while a few performances took place, the Fugees faced multiple postponements and cancellations.

So, where are the members of the Fugees now? Here’s everything to know about Hill, Michel and Jean, 30 years after the release of their acclaimed second and final studio album.

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Lauryn Hill

After the Fugees broke up, Hill found massive success with the 1998 album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Not only did she earn a Grammy for Best New Artist for her solo debut, but she also won Album of the Year — the first hip-hop album to ever win in that category.

Hill has only released one other studio album since then — a recording of new material she played live for MTV Unplugged in 2001 — but it wasn’t nearly as popular as her debut hit. Still, Hill is largely considered one of the greatest rappers and singer-songwriters of all time and has won a total of eight Grammys (two with the Fugees, five as a solo artist and one for a collaboration with Santana).

During an episode of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums podcast in January 2021, the New Jersey native said she never got the opportunity to produce another studio album.

“I challenged the norm and introduced a new standard,” she said. “I believe The Miseducation did that and I believe I still do this. [Myself and my album] defy convention when the convention is questionable.”

Beyond her musical career, Hill had a brief acting stint in the ‘90s, appearing in movies like 1993’s Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit and 1997’s Hav Plenty.

In May 2013, Hill was sentenced to three months in prison and three months of home confinement for not filing tax returns for five years, per the Department of Justice.

The “Doo Wop (That Thing)” singer shares five children with her ex-partner Rohan Marley: Zion, Selah, Joshua (who goes by the stage name YG Marley), John and Sara Marley. She hasn’t publicly shared the identity of the father of her youngest son Micah, whom she welcomed in July 2011.

In April 2024, Hill performed at Coachella and surprised fans when Jean joined her onstage. Though the Fugees were scheduled to embark on a reunion tour that August, the U.S. dates were canceled three days before the first show. Hill claimed on Instagram that “clickbait headlines” affected the tour’s ticket sales.

She also performed at the 2025 Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans and was honored with the Living Legend Icon Award at the 2026 BET Awards.

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Pras Michel

Like Hill, Michel (born Prakazrel Samuel Michel) also pursued a solo career after the Fugees, releasing his hit single “Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)” in 1998. However, he soon pivoted from the stage to the screen and starred in the 2000 crime drama Turn It Up.

That project led to a string of minor roles in the 2000s, including the films Higher Ed (2001) and Mutant Chronicles (2008), as well as series such as Nora’s Hair Salon. Michel also produced documentaries, like Skid Row (2007) and Sweet Micky for President (2015). His web series The Bay won three Emmy Awards in 2020, per Deadline.

The New Jersey-raised rapper has released a few singles over the years and reunited with the Fugees during Hill’s headlining set at the 2023 Roots Picnic.

After the group’s reunion tour was canceled in November 2023 and the co-headlining Miseducation anniversary tour in August 2024, the rapper released an alleged diss track against Hill titled “Bar Mitzfa,” in which he seemingly blamed her for the fallout.

“No one will remember: click bait beefs, how many Gucci bags you owned, bogus excuses,” Michel raps in the song. “People will remember: How you made them feel, if you kept your word, if they could count on you, if you come on Time!!!”

Months later, in October, Michel sued Hill, alleging fraud and breach of contract related to the canceled 2024 tour and the shortened 2023 tour. The former Fugees frontwoman called the lawsuit “baseless” in a statement. The lawsuit was “dropped without prejudice” in March 2026, meaning he could potentially refile at a later date.

The rapper has also dealt with his own legal troubles. In April 2023, he was found guilty of conspiracy, concealment of material facts, making false entries in records, witness tampering and serving as an unregistered agent of a foreign power.
Michel was sentenced to 14 years in prison in November 2025 for his role in an international conspiracy involving Malaysian businessman Jho Low during former President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign. He turned himself in to the Federal Correctional Institution in Safford, Ariz., on April 30, 2026, while vowing to appeal his conviction.

Michel shares son Landon with ex Angela Severiano.

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Wyclef Jean

Jean was the first of the Fugees’ founding members to release a solo album, dropping The Carnival in 1997. The group was still together at the time, and Hill and Michel made guest appearances on the album.

The “911” rapper went on to release eight more studio albums. As of 2026, he’s been nominated for 10 Grammys, including Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie,” earning two wins with the Fugees and one for his work on Santana’s 2000 album Supernatural.

A native Haitian raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Jean founded the charity Yéle Haiti in 2005 to support the country’s youth and assist impoverished communities. The rapper resigned from the organization in 2010 amid preparations to declare his candidacy for the Haitian presidency, per CBS News. Jean was ultimately deemed ineligible for office since he didn’t reside in the country.

As for the organization, it had been under scrutiny for $16 million in donations raised after Haiti’s 2010 earthquakes. It closed in 2012 amid debt and legal challenges, The New York Times reported.

After an extended break from music, Jean returned in 2017, telling PEOPLE coming back to the art was like “drinking water, it’s a natural thing.”

In June 2026, he released his first album in nine years, the autobiographical Clef Notes, the first in his seven-volume project, “Quantum Leap.”

Jean shares one daughter, Angelina Claudinelle (who also goes by Claudinel Jean), with his wife and fashion designer Claudinette, whom he married in 1994.

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