Michael Franti
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| Michael Franti | |
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.jpg/220px-Franti,_Michael_(2008).jpg) Michael Franti in 2008
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| Background information | |
| Origin | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Genre(s) | Hip hop, Funk, Reggae, Jazz, Folk, jam band |
| Years active | 1988–Present |
| Label(s) | Alternative Tentacles Island Records Capitol records Boo Boo Wax Six Degrees ANTI- |
| Associated acts | Radioactive Carl Young |
| Website | http://www.stayhuman.org |
Michael Franti (born April 21, 1966, in Oakland, California) is an American poet, musician, and composer of African, American Indian, Italian, and German descent. Franti is the creator and lead vocalist of Michael Franti & Spearhead, a band that blends hip hop with a variety of other styles including funk, reggae, jazz, folk, and rock. He is also an outspoken supporter for a wide spectrum of peace and social justice issues.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Beatnigs (1986–1990)
Franti began his music career in 1986 as part of the industrial punk band The Beatnigs. While attending the University of San Francisco and living above the college radio station he developed a fascination with music and decided to start a band. The Beatnigs included DJ Rono Tse and released a self-titled LP, and an EP Television on Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles records. The records received some critical acclaim but little notoriety beyond the San Francisco bay area.
[edit] Disposable Heroes (1991–1993)
His next project, The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, found Franti continuing his collaboration with Tse, and working with jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter, and electronic musicians Mark Pistel (Consolidated) and Jack Dangers (Meat Beat Manifesto). The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy wrote biting, progressive lyrics that railed against the injustices of the world, set to a fusion of industrial and hip hop. Their first album won acclaim for its social commentary, and they were chosen by U2 to open for their Zoo TV Tour.
Franti and the Disposable Heroes put together another record of music accompanying novelist William Burroughs' readings for an album entitled Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales. This album diverged greatly from the style of the band's previous work, as they were largely providing musical background and accompaniment to Burroughs' spoken readings from several of his books.
[edit] Michael Franti & Spearhead (1994–)
In 1994, Franti formed a new band called Spearhead with a few studio musicians, including mainstay Carl Young, and announced the dissolution of Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. Their first release, Home, in September of 1994, was a departure from the politically charged rap of the Disposable Heroes and drew more from funk and soul music.
Their follow up album Chocolate Supa Highway was released in March of 1997, with several changes in band members between releases. This album featured a bit of a return to Hip Hop and a pronounced reggae influence and included guest appearances by notables like Stephen Marley and Joan Osborne.
As Spearhead, the band released two albums, Home and Chocolate Supa Highway, followed by a split with Capitol Records (reportedly prompted by the label's repeated urging to perform with other artists like Will Smith). The band instead decided to create its own record label, Boo Boo Wax. Since Capitol Records owns the rights to the name "Spearhead," subsequent albums have all been released as "Michael Franti & Spearhead."
In 1999, Franti began a deeper exploration of his music and politics. He returned the following year as an organizer and cultural worker tied to several intensifying political movements of the time, voicing his observations through his music.
Michael Franti & Spearhead released Stay Human in 2000 on indie music label, Boo Boo Wax and Six Degrees. The album's central theme was the unjust nature of the death penalty and other major themes included media monopolization, the prison-industrial complex and corporate globalization.
In an interview, Franti talks about the message of Stay Human: "Half the record is songs about what's happening in the world right now, and the other half is about how we cope with it as people who are concerned about what's going on," he says. "This spectre of war, intimidation, this nation vs. the rest of the world, it wears us out. Half the record is a healthy dose of venting anger about that, and the other half is about how do we hold on to our spirituality, our community and our connectedness to each other." [1] Franti left Six Degrees due to the labels' inability to properly promote the project, for poor record sales and frequent disagreements with the labels' founder Pat Berry.
Everyone Deserves Music was released in 2003. Franti composed many of the songs from his guitar and, like fellow 21st century cultural globalists Manu Chao and Ozomatli, continues to synthesize his eclectic influences. In a departure from the industrial sounds of the Beatnigs and Disposable Heroes, and the minimalism of early Spearhead, Franti's affirming lyrics are now set to appropriately swelling rock chords, while keeping a world-wise groove nodding towards reggae, dancehall, bossa nova, Afrobeat, and funk. Anthems like the title track "Everyone Deserves Music", "Yes I Will" and "Bomb The World" are constructed with a nod to the '80s rock of The Clash and U2, as well as classic soul from Stax and Motown. The song "We Don't Stop" (featuring Gift of Gab from Blackalicious and Spearhead's rapper/beatbox technician Radioactive) even manages to bridge the two sounds in a "Magnificent Seven" style mash-up. And on "Love Why Did You Go Away" and "What I Be", Franti reveals an alluring, sensual singing voice. "Pray For Grace" and "Bomb The World (Armageddon Version)" pair Franti with the reggae/funk giants Sly and Robbie (Grace Jones, Rolling Stones, Black Uhuru, No Doubt).
Also in 2003, Franti released a mostly acoustic album, Songs from the Front Porch containing rearranged versions of older songs from Chocolate Supa Highway, Stay Human and Everyone Deserves Music as well as a couple of new tracks.
On July 25, 2006, Michael Franti & Spearhead released their new album, entitled " Yell Fire!", inspired by Franti's trip to Israel, Baghdad, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. In an effort to share his experiences from his trip and to explore the human cost of war, Franti produced a movie entitled "I Know I'm Not Alone", using the songs from his album " Yell Fire!" as a soundtrack. "One Step Closer To You" from Yell Fire! features Pink on backing vocals.
Michael Franti and Spearhead have taken a highly unconventional route to notoriety for an act with Hip Hop roots. Largely ignored by the traditional mainstream TV and radio channels of promotion, Franti and Spearhead have gained a passionate worldwide audience through extensive touring and appearances in alternative media like Mother Jones Magazine and Democracy Now.
Franti continues to hit the festival circuit worldwide, in addition to producing the annual Power to the Peaceful[2] festival, which has drawn more than 20,000 people to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco over the past seven years. Michael Franti continues to gain influence in both popular music and social movements largely through extensive touring and word of mouth fan support. Lyrics from his song "Bomb The World", written in the dark aftermath of September 11 such as "You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can't bomb it into peace.", have found their way onto protest signs and T-shirts all over the world from Los Angeles to Berlin, San Francisco to CNN, at demonstrations for peace large and small.
The song "Light Up Ya Lighter" by Michael Franti & Spearhead was included on the soundtrack to Body of War, an award-winning documentary about Tomas Young, a paralyzed Iraq War veteran.
[edit] Politics
Franti is also an advocate for peace in the Middle East. His film I know I'm Not Alone features footage of Iraq, the territories within the Palestinian Authority, and Israel and communicates to the MTV, X, Y and Z generations, as well as the baby boomers about the human cost of war.[citation needed] Franti is also vegan.[1]
In an anti-poverty protest, Franti decided not to wear his own shoes, initially for three days, and never went back. Except for occasionally wearing flip-flops on an airplane or in a restaurant, Franti has been walking through life barefoot since 2000.[2] In 2006, he was invited by Australian MP Jenny Macklin to show the film at Australia's Parliament House, Canberra.[citation needed] This required him, for security reasons, to wear shoes[citation needed].
Michael Franti is a member of the Green Party.[citation needed]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Solo
[edit] Spearhead[edit] Studio albums
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[edit] Live albums and compilations
[edit] Collaborations
[edit] The Beatnigs
[edit] The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy
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[edit] See also
- Blue In The Face (Movie Soundtrack)
- 1 Giant Leap
- Look at All the Love We Found
- Snakes on a Plane: The Album
- List of vegans
[edit] References
- ^ http://youtube.com/watch?v=woCSH2bQXes
- ^ "Michael Franti: Barefoot Bodhisattva". College Crier. Retrieved May 5, 2008.
[edit] External links
- Stay Human - official website
- SpearheadVibrations - official website
- FrantiV - Michael Franti video series on YouTube
- Power to the Peaceful - official website for Power To The Peaceful Music Festival
- I know I'm not alone - official website for the film I Know I'm Not Alone
- Michael Franti and Spearhead collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
- FreakyandFree - fansite from Australia
- LoveIsDaShit - fansite from USA
- Power to the Peaceful - fansite from Belgium
- Spearhead-Home - fansite from Germany
- Michael Franti info page
- Mother Jones Interview with Michael Franti from Mother Jones Magazine
- Being There Review of Yell Fire!
- Peace Not WarListen to Michael Franti's song Bomb The World
- Michael Franti Gallery Turtle Vision photo gallery of Michael Franti
- Michael Franti interview extended interview with Michael Frant at the radioshow A palaver 04. December 2006
- TERRA VIDEO PODCAST - Franti in Concert plus Interview
- Paradiso concert (13-12-2006) A free video of their entire Paradiso concert.
- Videointerview from Greenpeace Berlin to personal and political Questions
- Michael Franti at The Dwarf
- Interview with Al Jazeera English's Riz Khan show
