About Michael Franti & Spearhead
Michael Franti is an American singer, songwriter, musician, poet, activist, documentarian, and rapper. Known for his participation in many musical projects, most with a political and social emphasis, including the Beatnigs and the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. He is the creator and lead vocalist of Michael Franti & Spearhead, a band which 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 social justice issues; he is especially an advocate for peace in the Middle East.
Michael Franti was born in Oakland, California. His mother, Mary Lofy, had Irish, German, and Belgian ancestry; his father, Thomas Hopkins, was of African American and Native American descent. He was adopted by Carole Wisti and Charles Franti, a Finnish American couple in Oakland, who at the time had three biological children and one adopted African American son. Charles Franti was a professor in the department of epidemiology and preventive medicine of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and died in 2003. Franti's four adoptive siblings are Rebecca, Sara, Dan, and Matthew. Michael also has four half-siblings, Thea, Thomas, Charles, and Arthur Hopkins.
Franti went to grade 9 at Highland Junior High School in Edmonton, Alberta. Then he attended Davis Senior High School and University of San Francisco on a full basketball scholarship, where during the 1985–1986 season, he averaged 2.4 pts per game. During his time at school there he met a priest who taught him how to write stories, and soon he was writing poetry. He purchased a bass guitar at a pawn shop and started creating music inspired by hip hop, punk, and reggae which was being played on the campus radio station, KUSF.
Franti began his music career in 1986 as part of the industrial punk/spoken word band the Beatnigs. While attending the University of San Francisco and living above KUSF he developed a fascination with music and decided to start a band. The Beatnigs included dancer and percussionist Rono Tse; the band released a self-titled LP and an EP Television on Alternative Tentacles records. The records received some critical acclaim but little fame beyond the San Francisco Bay Area.
The 1988 LP release The Beatnigs was recorded at Dancin' Dog Studio in Emeryville and distributed by Alternative Tentacles. In addition to Michael Franti and Ron Tse, the band included Henry Flood on percussion, Andre Flores on keyboards, and Kevin Carnes on vocals. All of the band members made multiple instrumental contributions, including industrial percussion.
His next project, the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, found Franti continuing his collaboration with Tse, and working with jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter, as well as electronic musicians Mark Pistel and Jack Dangers . The Disposable Heroes wrote politically charged lyrics that railed against the injustices of the world, set to a fusion of industrial music and hip hop. Their first album, Hypocrisy is the Greatest Luxury , won plaudits for its social commentary, and they were chosen by U2 to open for their Zoo TV Tour.
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