Michael Franti

A longtime fixture in the Bay Area music scene, Michael Franti is known both for his eclectic, highly creative music, and for his ardent activism. He got his start as a founding member of the Beatnigs, an aggressive, industrial jazz duo formed in the mid-eighties. After one album with them, he formed the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, a rap group whose main purpose was to educate listeners about the widespread lyrical ignorance in hip-hop. The group released one LP, scored a minor hit with "TV: The Drug of the Nation," and shared stages with everyone from PE to Jello Biafra to Nirvana. Franti then went on to start Spearhead, who, with their socially conscious message and more accessible and organic sound, fast became favorites of progressive, politically active listeners in the Bay Area and around the world. Spearhead has released four albums since 1994, and continue to perform regularly. They took part in several anti-war concerts during the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts, and toured with Ziggy Marley.