I am very happy to be back after my brief summer hiatus to bring to you a truly inspirational story of someone who has experienced all of life’s highs and lows and has come through it all thanks to grace, resilience, great friends, and incredible talent.

Today I am honored to be speaking with Grammy-nominated recording artist, songwriter, activist, filmmaker and friend, John Forte. John is probably best known for writing and producing songs for The Fugees and their multi-platinum record The Score, and for his subsequent collaborations with Wyclef Jean.

After huge success as a producer in the late 90s and following the tough unsuccessful (in John’s mind at the time) release of his first album, Poly Sci, John went into a deep isolation. Then when an opportunity presented itself for him to work as a middleman connecting people who were acting as drug couriers, John took it. His focus was less on the work he was doing and more on what he could do with the money he was making – make more music.

In July of 2000, Forté was arrested at Newark International Airport. As he explained to GQ magazine back in 2022, “I was picking up two carriers who had already been cooperating in a controlled sting, because they’d been caught and apprehended with 14 kilograms of liquid cocaine,” he says. He was sentenced to the mandatory minimum of 14 years and incarcerated at FCI Loretto, a low-security federal prison in Pennsylvania.

With friends like Carly Simon and with support from an unlikely ally then Senator Orin Hatch from Utah, Forte’s case was presented to President George W Bush for commutation and his sentence was commuted. After serving 7 years, John was finally free.

John left prison and went on to do what he was always called to do – make music. For more than two decades, John has produced solo albums and a myriad of collaborative projects.

John is currently composing the score and writing/producing the soundtrack for the forthcoming “Kerouac’s Road: Beat of a Nation” for Universal, he also recently scored the forthcoming 6-part HBO series “Eyes on the Prize”.

John’s music has also been featured in films and television, including the Emmy-nominated “Momentum Generation” for HBO. John also created The Brooklyn Nets inaugural theme song back in 2012, a very personal thing for him as a Brooklyn native.

The film, The Russian Winter, was released in 2012, following John’s concert tour through Russia while exploring his life up until then. A second film about John’s life is currently in production, Settling the Score.

John is also very involved in prison reform and social justice initiatives – all while he is enjoying his life as a father of two living on Martha’s Vineyard.

In this two-part interview – John and I talk about his upbringing, his incredible career, his time in prison, his incredible commutation by President Bush and all the amazing work he has accomplished since then - not to mention the wonderful life he has built – savoring the simple pleasures in life like fishing and being a Dad, while writing, making music and producing films.

John’s story is one of promise, hope, redemption, and love. His life and example move and inspire me - I know it will you too...

If you enjoy the show, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, and follow us on Instagram at The Interview with Leslie. A new podcast is released every Wednesday.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.