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Taken from dailyfreepress.com (October 24, 2002)
Spearhead's Franti a voice to be reckoned with
Where's the social conscience in today's mainstream music?
by Courtney Hollands
 With all the controversy and conflict rattling the globe, where are the Arlo Guthries, the Joey Ramones and the Bob Marleys extolling anger and encouraging action and revolution in their respective styles?
Hip-hop artist Michael Franti is currently one of the lone torchbearers in this longstanding legacy of musical dissidence and freethinking. His music--a curious hybrid of folk, punk and reggae--is the message, and he has much to say.
"Music has unlimited power," began Franti in a recent phone interview, his low baritone voice reverberating. "Music brings out emotions that we never knew we had, that were always lying just below the surface. It can't change the world overnight, but it can get you through a tough night. Change comes heart by heart, tear by tear."
Much of his revisionist world view stems from an unlikely childhood: as an African American adopted by white parents in predominantly black Oakland, Calif., Franti turned toward alternate role models, such as the Black Panther Party, for guidance and support.
"I never fit in with my family or neighborhood," Franti offered. "I guess I've always identified with the underdog and written my music from that perspective."
He began his musical career in his early 20s as a member of two hardcore rap groups: the Beatnigs and the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. Yet, always an advocate of tolerance and non-violence, Franti soon formed his next project, Spearhead, in 1990-exchanging turntables and brash lyrics for simpler melodies and soul-induced protest, trading Dr. Dre for Marvin Gaye.
Spearhead immediately established its criteria for song topics--leave no ghetto unturned, no alley unexplored, no government unexamined. Its first album, Home, featured such controversial topics as AIDS, homelessness and police brutality.
"Some of the issues we've addressed have been more controversial than others," Franti said. "The audience has been generally receptive, especially in the current climate. I have been writing a wealth of anti-war songs recently; one song, 'Bomb the World,' begins 'you can bomb the world to pieces / but not to peace,' and I think a lot of people can relate to that."
Franti's most recent album, Staying Human from late 2001, is an innovative concept album detailing his feelings on the death penalty- "killing is wrong ... it is not justice, and it will never be right," he seethed. The album assumes the format of a radio program discussing the fictional case of Sister Fatima, a nun wrongly accused of a double murder and sentenced to death. Through dialogue, interspersed with funky, telling bouts of rock and rap, Franti reaffirms his beliefs and reaches out to even the most reluctant listener.
And according to Franti, accessible messages and audience interaction are also the keys to a successful live performance.
"Intimacy is so important," he stressed. "You've got to get the audience clapping, singing, doing. Also, I try to write songs that can be played acoustically, as well as with a full band. If you leave room for improvisation then the music will always evolve."
After shows, Franti always ventures into the audience to "contact people who are really thinking and feeling the world." It is in these rap sessions with fans that he finds the one thing that truly inspires him in his less-than-hopeful opinion of the country and the world: the youth movement.
"More than ever, I'm seeing young people today that are energized and interested in social change," he noted enthusiastically. "They are shifting their priorities, mostly due to the impending war. If protest turns them onto yoga, or onto health food, or onto which companies they should give their money to, then that's cool."
Franti's shows foster an environment for forward thinkers to mingle and coalesce.
"Expect dancing and sweating," he said. "Expect other people to accept who you are, embracing your weirdness and freakiness. Feel free to let go."
Yet where else can disgruntled youth turn when they need musical healing and justification?
Franti seemed troubled by this question. After quickly reviewing the contemporary music industry-- "an industry that seems more interested in producing the next Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, rather than the next Bob Dylan"-he struggled to produce two names: Bonnie Raitt and Jello Biafra.
"I wish there were more," he lamented. "But the world climate is changing. And musicians will face an ultimate choice: to bury their heads deeper in the sand or to speak louder and voice their consciousness. This applies to musicians specifically, but also to people in general."
We certainly know which side Franti will be on.
Michael Franti's unique blend of hopping beats and astute activism will grace Avalon Ballroom tonight. Performing with Spearhead is opening act III Kings. Door opens at 6 pm; show starts at 7 pm. Tickets are $16.25.
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