An arrangement between the Bank of Canada and dealers whereby the Bank buys treasuries from a dealer, and the dealer agrees to repurchase the treasuries the next day.
Investopedia Says: In a PRA, the Bank of Canada is essentially lending money to the dealer at the midpoint of the overnight operating band rate in order to increase the dealer's liquidity.
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Learn about the tools the Fed uses to influence interest rates and general economic conditions. Formulating Monetary Policy Few organizations can move the market like the Federal Reserve. As an investor, it's important to understand exactly what the Fed does and how it influences the economy. The Federal Reserve
Representative Albums: "Ghetto Supastar," "Win Lose or Draw"
Representative Songs: "Blue Angels," "Ghetto Supastar That Is What," "What'cha Wanna Do"
Biography
A member of the seminal '90s rap trio the Fugees, Pras' solo career didn't rise to the same heights as those of his colleagues, Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill, in part because he concentrated more on acting than music. Of Haitian descent (like his cousin Wyclef), Pras was born Prakazrel Michel in New Jersey. Along with his high-school classmate Lauryn Hill, he co-founded the rap group Tranzlator Crew in 1987; cousin Wyclef, who'd been hanging out with Pras quite a bit since moving to the United States, joined a short time later. Eventually, the trio renamed itself the Fugees, after an expression for Haitian refugees, and signed with Ruffhouse Records in 1993. Their 1994 debut, Blunted on Reality, was aimed at the hardcore crowd, which didn't really fit the group's own sensibilities, but with their all-inclusive groundbreaking sophomore effort, The Score, the Fugees created one of the biggest-selling rap albums of all time, adored by critics and record buyers alike.
Pras was the last of the Fugees to release a solo album, although he did cut his first solo track in 1997, covering Eddy Grant's '80s smash "Electric Avenue" for the soundtrack of the Chris Tucker flick Money Talks. In 1998, Pras contributed "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" to the soundtrack of Warren Beatty's Bulworth. With appearances from Ol' Dirty Bastard and Mya, "Ghetto Supastar" became a substantial hit, climbing to number three pop and number one R&B. Pras immediately rushed to put together his first solo album, solving the problem of coordinating guest appearances by inviting celebrities to leave him answering-machine messages. Ghetto Supastar the album didn't fare nearly as well as the single, spending only two weeks in the Top 100 upon its release in late 1998. Undaunted, Pras turned some of the narratives from Ghetto Supastar songs into a novel -- also naturally titled Ghetto Supastar -- in early 1999. He also struck a deal with Madonna's new film production company to turn Ghetto Supastar into a movie, starring himself.
First, though, Pras made his feature film debut in the 1999 Ben Stiller superhero comedy Mystery Men, playing a supporting villain. He then set to work on Ghetto Supastar the movie, whose title was eventually changed to Turn It Up (perhaps for variety's sake). Turn It Up hit theaters in the summer of 2000 (two years after Pras' initial hit single), and it too performed disappointingly. Still, Pras was slated to appear in the films Higher Ed and Full Contact, and began work on a new album in late 2000, which wasn't released until August 2005. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
This article is about Pras, the musical artist. For the computer science concept "polynomial-time randomized approximation scheme" or PRAS, see polynomial-time approximation scheme.
Born in Haiti and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Pras cultivated an early interest in music. When he was fifteen, Pras met Lauryn Hill. In 1988, Pras introduced Lauryn to his "cousin," Wyclef Jean. Pras Michel, Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill began to rehearse under the kindly guidance of Kool and the Gang's producer, Ronald Khalis Bell, and subsequently they formed a musical group called The Rap Translators in 1989 (also known as Tranzlator Crew). The group changed its name to The Fugees in 1994, to avoid a conflict with a group who had the same name and as a tribute to the many Haitian refugees desperately crossing the ocean to the United States.
Music career
In 1994, before and during the time that The Fugees were recording their first album Blunted on Reality, under the supervision of Kool and the Gang's producer Ronald Khalis Bell, Pras attended Rutgers College and Yale University pursuing a double major in Philosophy and Psychology. In 1996, The Fugees achieved historic crossover success with The Score, which went multi-platinum. Pras has also forged a successful solo career, beginning with an international hit single from his first full-length solo LP, "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)," featuring Mýa and Ol' Dirty Bastard. "Ghetto Superstar" became a top ten single in 1999, and the #8 most played single; it was received with critical acclaim and earned Pras a performance at the World Music Awards. The hit single was included in the soundtrack for the Warren Beatty-starring film, "Bulworth." "Ghetto Supastar" spent eight weeks in the UK Top 5, peaking at number 2 in July 1998, and reached US #15 a month later. "Blue Angels," from the same album, was acknowledged as a UK Top 10 hit, reaching #6 in November of the same year.
Pras also featured on the track 'Turn you on' by Swedish artist DeDe (www.dede.se) which was released in fall 2007. Turn you on" is also written and produced by Pras Michel. After nine weeks on Swedens single chart the single went No. 2. Pras and DeDe has been touring/ promoting 'Turn you on' around Sweden and Europe fall 2007 and July/August 2008. He also featured Pushin' from the album Equalize by acclaimed Brit-Asian electro-pop band Swami, which was released in fall 2007.
In 2009, Pras is slated to release an album under the Image Entertainment / Experience label, titled "Experience Magic." The first single and video from the album is "Pop Life."
Pras has won numerous awards - including two Grammys, a Billboard Award, multiple Brit Awards, a World Music Award, a Top of The Pops Award and a Video Music Award.
Other work
After his cameo debut in the 1999 film, "Mystery Men," Pras gained an interest in Hollywood. In 2000, Pras starred in the New Line film, Turn It Up. In early 2002, he appeared in the Sony/Urban World release "Higher Ed," and "Go For Broke," in which he starred and produced. He is co-starring in three 20th Century Fox films, to be released in 2007–2008 (he is planned to receive producing credit on two of those films). Pras recently finished the film, "The Mutant Chronicles,"
In 2006, Pras created "Skid Row," a documentary account of his nine-day experience posing as a homeless person living in downtown Los Angeles. Using a hidden camera, Pras captured the devastating reality of homelessness. Skid Row was released in 24 August 2007. The film was produced by Teryn Fogel.
The experience of living on the street inspired Pras to launch prAsperity project in May 2007. prAsperity project is a non-profit organization that jump-starts awareness and solutions for intractable problems affecting the human condition. The organization takes on humanity "projects" as distinct crusades that need attention, working on behalf of established community groups to inject energy and progress towards issues ranging from homelessness to social injustice.
In 2008, Pras launched a new media marketing company called Platinum Brand, a global provider of internet video solutions and services. He publishes and distributes a weekly video blog available on the site.
