Michael Franti
Michael Franti
Michael Frantiis an American rapper, musician, poet, spoken word artist and singer-songwriter. Michael Franti is known for having participated in many musical projects, including the Beatnigs and the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. He is the creator and lead vocalist of his current independent project, 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...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionRapper
Date of Birth21 April 1966
CityOakland, CA
CountryUnited States of America
Epitaph is a label that I've admired for a long time. It's kind of like a record label that would be my own personal record collection at home: punk rock, hip-hop, and great, classic, creative music.
The more places I go to, the more I realize I understand so little about the world.
The way the music comes to you starts to affect how you listen to music. When you're a kid, it's 'Does it rock? Does it make me feel good? Does it make me tap my feet? Does it make me go to sleep?'
It never would have happened without the Internet.
It's a really personal thing for me to write a song.
It really is a strange time we're living in, when saying 'Don't kill people' is considered a radical point of view.
I try to use the attention that I get to help and to serve, and that's really what I'd see as my work - to serve my community, serve the planet, serve my family. And I think a celebrity is someone who draws the attention on themselves, and then it kind of stops there.
People underestimate the hip-hop audience and the capacity to understand politics when it's part of music.
The world can't have a global solution to climate change with U.S. action alone; and the world can't have a global solution without U.S. action.
Music gives us new energy and a stronger sense of purpose.
Music was a central part of my childhood because my mother played organ and piano in the church, and that meant all us kids had to be in the church choir.
My greatest sense of accomplishment has come from having two amazing sons, but it's also a paradox in that the times when I felt like the biggest failure have been times when I felt like, as a parent, I wasn't making the right decisions or succeeding in the way that I should.
My house was filled with music. We had a piano, and my brothers and sisters played instruments. Even though I was around it, I played basketball.
My favorite band of all time is The Clash. The thing I love about The Clash is they started out as guys who could barely play three chords. They dabbled in reggae, punk, rap, jazz. They came to a sound that could only be defined as The Clash. It was impossible to say what it was. I admire them for that.