John Forté is a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and producer from Brooklyn, New York, best known for his work with the multi-platinum group “The Fugees.” On November 24, 2008, Forté was granted a commutation by President George W. Bush after having served more than seven years of a fourteen-year federal prison sentence for a first-time non-violent drug offense.

This July, marking the nine-year anniversary of the date of his arrest, Forté released StyleFREE the EP, his first collection of new music in eight years. Forté’s undeniable talent as a lyricist and musician, far from diminishing during his incarceration, has grown and matured. His new songs, full of powerful social commentary combined with hope and inspiration, bear witness to the remaking of a man and his struggle to remain free – they are a testament to his spiritual journey and proof that the phoenix can, and will, rise from the ashes.

On StyleFREE the EP, Forté delivers an eclectic group of songs, including tracks reminiscent of mixtape culture and throwbacks from Forté’s childhood in Brownsville, Brooklyn, such as the title track, “StyleFREE”. The EP also contains powerful ballads like “More Beautiful Now,“ and the self-affirming “There We Are” – each track being equally honest, poetic and creatively expressed. His first single, “Play My Cards for Me” is being offered as a free MP3, and is in rotation on tastemaker radio stations such as WXPN.

Prior to his incarceration, Forté produced and co-wrote tracks for The Fugees’ multi-platinum album The Score, and recorded two solo albums, PolySci (Columbia; 1998) and I, John (Transparent; 2002), which featured guest appearances by Herbie Hancock, Esthero and Tricky, and included a duet with Carly Simon (Forté’s friend, mentor and spiritual godmother who also later campaigned tirelessly for his release). Upon his return home, Forté dropped several MP3s into the blogosphere, including “Life Has Just Begun (Returning Home),” “Homecoming” (featuring Talib Kweli) and a remake of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” and recorded almost 60 songs.

In addition to enjoying technology that did not exist when Forté went away such as iTunes, his MacBook Pro, and the ONE and GiO by Apogee Electronics, Forté is also writing (he signed a book deal with Simon & Schuster for his memoir and is a contributor to The Daily Beast), touring (he recently joined fellow artists Talib Kweli, Chrisette Michelle, and Pharoahe Monch on stage as special guests of The Roots at Highline Ballroom, showcased at SXSW, and returned from Ireland having performed with Ben Taylor and David Saw) and is actively working with at-risk youth at In Arms Reach, a Harlem-based initiative for children of incarcerated parents.