“The bass, the treble, don’t make a rebel/Having your life together does.” Those words, rapped by Michael Franti back in 1992, seem eerily prophetic today. In an industry notorious for perpetrating fantasy and the philosophy of “getting mine,” the Bay Area-based musician is a thinking, feeling person joyously out of step with his contemporaries in the music industry. Spark talks politics with Franti, from the set of his latest music video to backstage of a free performance at Amoeba Music.
Franti’s dedication to making politics personal began in the late ’80swith the agitprop punk band The Beatnigs, continued in the early ’90s with the industrial hip-hop forum Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, to arrive at what he is today: a mesmerizing spoken word artist and leader of the politically astute San Francisco band Spearhead.
He makes conscious music that engages brain, booty and soul in a funky soundtrack of hip-hop, reggae, Latin, blues, spoken word and R&B. He’s stepping in the oversized footprints of Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, Gil Scott-Heron, Sly Stone, Linton Kwesi Johnson and Chuck D yet creating his own path — embracing new music and communities as he goes along. Live shows have included drum circles, alternative energy generators, DJs, potlucks, massage therapy and information tables.
He’s rapped about AIDS awareness (“Positive”) and homelessness (“Hole in the Bucket”). After the band’s second major-label album, “Chocolate Supa Highway,” Spearhead put attracting mainstream attention on the back burner to remain true to its consciousness-raising mission. Its 2001 album “Stay Human” centered on the death penalty. In July 2003, the band released “Everyone Deserves Music,” a conscious party that drags speakers onto the White House lawn until the break of dawn.
Franti documents injustice, but more important, he does something about it. He’s inhaled tear gas on the front lines of anti-WTO rallies and lent his time and talent to support Mumia Abu-Jamal, anti-death penalty legislation, marijuana decriminalization, conscientious objector groups and the anti-war organization Not in Our Name.
For artists struggling to make it in the rap game, songs with politically progressive messages practically beg for radio banishment and audience alienation. Michael Franti has put his mind on record for more than 15 years and enjoys a supportive and loyal worldwide fan base. And he doesn’t wait for an election year to get political. The heart that beats inside his chest — booming louder than any passing car stereo system — simply won’t let him.
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