Michael Franti & Spearhead
Beyond
Carl Young, David Shul, Elisabeth Coyle- Johnson, Joshua Klorke, Kevin Choice, Mannars Itiene, Michael Franti, Wood Farguheson Jr..
Sat 13 July 2002 00:30 - 01:45 Statenhall
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After the black militant 'junkyard funk' of The Beatnigs and the aggressive 'industrial rap' of The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy vocalist Michael Franti founds a new group in the beginning of the nineties, Spearhead. The American singer wraps his confronting lyrics up in a form of hip hop mixed with influences of funk, soul and reggae, and presents them to a wide audience. Franti speaks of many controversial subjects in a grooving way, ranging from immigration problems to Aids, political issues and death penalty. On Stay Human he makes a firm statement against death penalty. His message is and stays honest and confronting, even when wrapped up in a danceable wrapper. Home, the first album made by Spearhead - which includes the provocating Hole In The Bucket - is already a classic and injects new life into the hip hop-genre. On the musically speaking prolonged sequel, Chocolate Supa Highway, Franti directs his anger towards the American prison system. It takes some years before Spearhead finds a new home with another record company. In the meantime Franti does many spoken word performances and plays in restaurants acoustically, releasing an independent compilation.
