Photo: Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images for AFI
@Wyclef #Haiti @prasmichel
Maybe its coincidence maybe it was planned but although it doesn’t seem The Fugees will collectively be getting back together any time soon, the group members have been back on the scene with their individual endeavors.  Lauryn Hill‘s highly anticipated appearance on the Rock the Bells music festival has been making waves and across the water her former lover colleague, Wyclef surprised the Hip Hop world by running for President in Haiti.

So what about Pras?  Not to be outdone, he’s actually been throwing a little venom Wyclef’s way and in a recent interview with New York Magazine’s “Vulture” he explained not only why he’s not endorsing his “brother” and instead supporting his competition.

“I think that he does have a core constituent group, but in order for Haiti to move progressively and rapidly forward, it’s going to need a person that represents more than just a particular group.”

As Pras points out although Clef’s platform focus on the youth of Haiti is a noble one, it  “doesn’t mean much in the sense of government.”

“You know how the youth are; the minute the next iPod comes out, iPod 6, they’re focusing on that. They’re not gonna be the ones that let you know how you should improve the education system, they’re not gonna be there to show you how to build a grid system, or to pave the roads, or to build green, solar homes. Yes, they are an important group, but they should be treated as kids. You bring them along. You don’t base your whole campaign on them just because a bunch of kids are running around in the streets with your T-shirts on.”

While I can see his point it really depends on what Pras is describing as they “Youth.”  Is he talking about the same “youth” that bought his Fugee albums, the same youth that was very influential in generating the buzz needed to elect President Obama?  If that’s what he’s referring to he’s wrong and shows his argument to be very unsophisticated however I’ll reserve further judgment without a better explanation.

Pras admirably resisted the urge to use the mismanagement of Wyclef’s charity, Yele Haiti, as a basis for his argument.

“It was a start-up, a new foundation, and they didn’t know how to do what needed to be done on that accounting caliber to prevent you from going through the embarrassment that he went through.”

Instead Pras pointed out that his ability to speak the official language of the country not his politics which prevent Wyclef from being the top candidate.

“Wyclef, he doesn’t speak the language of the country! He doesn’t speak French at all, and his Creole is similar to Jackie Chan’s English — no disrespect to Jackie Chan. How are you gonna be an effective leader, how are you gonna be inspiring the youth, if you’re telling them to forget French, forget Creole, speak English? That’s in their blood, that’s 200 years of culture. It’d be like Obama coming in and telling people to speak Cantonese.”

That’s actually pretty funny and if true a very valid point.  So who is Pras endorsing.

“Michel [Martelly] is one of the only guys that can unite not only the whole country — the elite, the masses, the youth, the Christians, the voodoo guys — but also the diaspora, the Haitians out here in America, Africa. He’s the ambassador for environmental protection, for disaster relief, and he has a foundation that’s been helping out the community for seventeen years. Michel served in the army. He’s not doing it for photo ops … People have this affinity for him that is natural. When you have that as a leader, it goes farther than someone coming in who’s popular.”

Gotta have the Voodoo guys endorsement in Haiti right?  That’s an important lobby group lol.  You can read more about Pras’ comments here.