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
Traveling to the Middle East and playing music for people on the street, for soldiers, for people in hospitals, and for people who lost their homes, and seeing people open up through the experience of music really restored my faith in music, in art, and in culture to change things.
Like sunshine, music is a powerful force that can instantly and almost chemically change your entire mood.
I think that fear comes about when there's things in the world that we want to change, things we're scared or angry about, and we can't change them, and so we become fearful; we develop anxiety.
The U.S. has historically been the world's largest contributor to climate change.
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.
We would play songs live on stage, and then we'd watch their reaction we were receiving immediately, if people were dancing and singing along. If they weren't, then we'd go into the dressing rooms of the different NBA teams that we were playing in their arenas, and we'd change the songs right there.
The U.S. has historically been the world's largest contributor to climate change.
The music industry has been hijacked by corporate interests, but the way music affects people and resonates with them hasn't changed.
I don't know if it's so grand that I can change the entire world, but I know that I can help one person. So that's the goal.
With all the people hating and hurting each other, I don't understand how people could get upset about people of the same sex caring for each other.
I always identified with that feeling of being an underdog. So I always was looking to connect with and meet people from other cultures, to experience people living a different life that I am.
I took a trip in 2004, a year after the war started in Iraq. I played music on the streets of Baghdad for Iraqi civilians. I'd also play for U.S. soldiers at night when they were off duty in the bars. Then I would talk to people, and I would film them and ask them about their life and the conflict.
You get everything you could have ever wished for if you're willing to give that eternal bliss away to somebody else, to give it back.
After a show, I'll get the 16-year-old white kid whose lip is pierced, his head is shaved and his parents hate him, and the young gangster from the screwed-up 'hood, and they say that now they realize there's someone out there who thinks like they do.