Fugees’ rapper Pras Michel recently spent several days as a homeless man, and he documented his dramatic experience for indie film First Night.
For nine days the multi-platinum rapper lived on the streets of downtown Los Angeles chronicling the trials of the homeless. All he had with him were shabby clothes and a daily budget of $1.
"The dollar a day didn't get me much at all," says Pras. "You have to hustle, steal, shoplift or prostitute yourself. I chose panhandling. People gave me the worst looks. Like I was invisible and at the same time the worst person on Earth."
Passersby were unaware that Pras had a hidden camera following him, and after seven hours of begging he made only $8. But even with that money, he wasn’t able to get a decent meal.
"I went into the Standard to get some food,” he says. "I showed the security guards my money but they threw me right out, because I looked homeless and my money was in change."
Carrying a hidden camera, the rapper also observed homeless people defecating on the sidewalk at 2 p.m. and shooting heroin steps away from an LAPD station. "I slept in the rain. My tent was stolen. I experienced how these people live," says Pras, who hopes to screen the documentary at the Toronto Film Festival in September.
"People aren't going to understand what it was like until they see it," he says. "Human beings should not be sleeping among rats."
For nine days the multi-platinum rapper lived on the streets of downtown Los Angeles chronicling the trials of the homeless. All he had with him were shabby clothes and a daily budget of $1.
"The dollar a day didn't get me much at all," says Pras. "You have to hustle, steal, shoplift or prostitute yourself. I chose panhandling. People gave me the worst looks. Like I was invisible and at the same time the worst person on Earth."
Passersby were unaware that Pras had a hidden camera following him, and after seven hours of begging he made only $8. But even with that money, he wasn’t able to get a decent meal.
"I went into the Standard to get some food,” he says. "I showed the security guards my money but they threw me right out, because I looked homeless and my money was in change."
Carrying a hidden camera, the rapper also observed homeless people defecating on the sidewalk at 2 p.m. and shooting heroin steps away from an LAPD station. "I slept in the rain. My tent was stolen. I experienced how these people live," says Pras, who hopes to screen the documentary at the Toronto Film Festival in September.
"People aren't going to understand what it was like until they see it," he says. "Human beings should not be sleeping among rats."
