Sage Francis - A Healthy Distrust - 2005
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Soarentabil
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) , ground control . . . ce mai . . . defapt toate sunt super tari . . . e super ok tipu' abia astept urmatorul album !-
meekay
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Ce nu-mi place mie la omu asta e ca are versuri prea nu stiu cum... prea mult subanteles pentru sanatatea mea. Parerea mea e ca rapul trebuie sa fie ceva mai in-your-face... mai pe fata... aici e prea multa abstractizare. Totusi vad ca pentru unii exact asta e frumusetea. (am mentionat ca urasc poezia?:?)
Totusi omu are un ceva... talent... nu stiu...
Makeshift Patriot mi se pare tare... pe un subiect cunoscut. (,,our god is bigger, stronger, smarter" ...
)
O intrebare: Pe ,,Next Testament" zice cik ,,i shared a cardboard box with KRS1 in the South Bronx"... e pe bune faza?
Totusi omu are un ceva... talent... nu stiu...
Makeshift Patriot mi se pare tare... pe un subiect cunoscut. (,,our god is bigger, stronger, smarter" ...
)O intrebare: Pe ,,Next Testament" zice cik ,,i shared a cardboard box with KRS1 in the South Bronx"... e pe bune faza?
wut if i wuz white?
turn ya other cheek and i'll break ya fuckin chin
so many whack rappers out here i don't know where to aim at
n-am ba, pleaca
turn ya other cheek and i'll break ya fuckin chin
so many whack rappers out here i don't know where to aim at
n-am ba, pleaca
Lovely review of A Healthy Distrust on areuonsomething.com
A Healthy Distrust - Sage Francis
by Mike D'Ariano
One month after September 11th, underground rapper Sage Francis recorded a song called "Makeshift Patriot" and released it via the internet. The song was a potent look at the attack on America and while it was sensitive to the horrors of that day, it was also critical towards the way the media and the Bush administration handled it. In one section of the song, Sage raps the line, "We don't really know who the culprit is, but he looks like this" and then recalls something that I remember clearly, but don't think I've heard anyone talk about for the last three years ??€� the fact that as the buildings were still burning, the major news outlets were airing a tape, obviously file footage, of Palestinians cheering in the streets.
The song ends with what I would estimate as a mid-60's quote from Bob Dylan, "Seriously, if I wanna find out anything, I'm not gonna read Time magazine. I'm not gonna read Newsweek. I'm not gonna read any of these magazines. I mean they've just got too much to lose by printing the truth. You know that."
It doesn't matter if you agree with his politics or not, the song is brilliant. For me personally, the fact that it was out in October 2001 makes it infinitely better. That was a time where everyone was bursting with American pride. Bruce "Vote For Change" Springsteen was on TV with a slew of other Bush bashers saying nothing to that effect and in fact singing about how great this country is. The Sage Francis song ??€� while more intelligent than most of the anti-Bush sentiment that arose in the coming years ??€� was also, and this is important to me and about as far from the bandwagon of its times as possible.
Sage was then signed to the traditionally punk rock label Epitaph records, and "Makeshift Patriot" was released officially on the eighth volume of their Punk-O-Rama series. Sage's full length Epitaph debut, A Healthy Distrust was released in early 2005.
After "Makeshift Patriot" and with an album title like A Healthy Distrust, I was expecting Sage's album to be heavily political. I knew I wasn't going to agree with everything he said, but I knew it was going to be said in a fashion that was enjoyable. To my surprise, the album is very enjoyable and not political. There's an element of it scattered throughout, but the songs are about all kinds of stuff, like women, Johnny Cash, and magic . . . magic? When flipping through the CD booklet, I noticed another Bob Dylan quote (credited to Robert Zimmerman) which speaks to exactly this aspect of the disc. "To cater to an audience's taste is not to respect them, and if the audience doesn't respect that, they don't deserve respect."
The good news ??€� and a lack of plethora of "Fuck Bush" tunes is in no way bad news ??€� is that while the lyrical content was not what I was expecting, the style and flow of Sage Francis' raps were completely on par with what I had heard before. There are lyrical tributes ??€� or perhaps they're meant to mock (who can tell) ??€� to both Eminem and Ice-T and amongst an overall exceptional collection of lyrics, there are a handful of absolutely classic lines. My favorite, and you have to understand that it sounds far better than it will ever read, is a play on the traditional rap call and response "when I say hip, you say hop" in the song "Escape Artist"??€¦.."When I say hip, you say 'shut the fuck up we ain't saying shit', and I'll respect it!"
In that line, when Sage rips apart the oldest clich?© in the hip-hop book, he's really giving a nod to his fans smart enough to realize that this is the new hip-hop, where the artist isn't going to patronize the listener. In the age of bling bling, here's another song about how many cars I have, and how big my wheels are (when the hell did that become cool). Sage Francis is most definitely a breathe of fresh air.
Aside from his lyrics, Sage's beats are also worth mentioning. Instead of rapping over a section of a Broadway show tune (Jay-Z) or some mid-level 1980's pop hit (Eminem), the beats on A Healthy Distrust are provided by true DJ's like Dangermouse and Reanimator which give the music just a little more freshness and credibility.
If you're into hip-hop, or would like to be but are irritated by all of the silliness and posturing in mainstream rap, this album is very much worth checking out, but be sure to get a hold of "Makeshift Patriot" as well, which is a modern classic in protest music.
by Mike D'Ariano
One month after September 11th, underground rapper Sage Francis recorded a song called "Makeshift Patriot" and released it via the internet. The song was a potent look at the attack on America and while it was sensitive to the horrors of that day, it was also critical towards the way the media and the Bush administration handled it. In one section of the song, Sage raps the line, "We don't really know who the culprit is, but he looks like this" and then recalls something that I remember clearly, but don't think I've heard anyone talk about for the last three years ??€� the fact that as the buildings were still burning, the major news outlets were airing a tape, obviously file footage, of Palestinians cheering in the streets.
The song ends with what I would estimate as a mid-60's quote from Bob Dylan, "Seriously, if I wanna find out anything, I'm not gonna read Time magazine. I'm not gonna read Newsweek. I'm not gonna read any of these magazines. I mean they've just got too much to lose by printing the truth. You know that."
It doesn't matter if you agree with his politics or not, the song is brilliant. For me personally, the fact that it was out in October 2001 makes it infinitely better. That was a time where everyone was bursting with American pride. Bruce "Vote For Change" Springsteen was on TV with a slew of other Bush bashers saying nothing to that effect and in fact singing about how great this country is. The Sage Francis song ??€� while more intelligent than most of the anti-Bush sentiment that arose in the coming years ??€� was also, and this is important to me and about as far from the bandwagon of its times as possible.
Sage was then signed to the traditionally punk rock label Epitaph records, and "Makeshift Patriot" was released officially on the eighth volume of their Punk-O-Rama series. Sage's full length Epitaph debut, A Healthy Distrust was released in early 2005.
After "Makeshift Patriot" and with an album title like A Healthy Distrust, I was expecting Sage's album to be heavily political. I knew I wasn't going to agree with everything he said, but I knew it was going to be said in a fashion that was enjoyable. To my surprise, the album is very enjoyable and not political. There's an element of it scattered throughout, but the songs are about all kinds of stuff, like women, Johnny Cash, and magic . . . magic? When flipping through the CD booklet, I noticed another Bob Dylan quote (credited to Robert Zimmerman) which speaks to exactly this aspect of the disc. "To cater to an audience's taste is not to respect them, and if the audience doesn't respect that, they don't deserve respect."
The good news ??€� and a lack of plethora of "Fuck Bush" tunes is in no way bad news ??€� is that while the lyrical content was not what I was expecting, the style and flow of Sage Francis' raps were completely on par with what I had heard before. There are lyrical tributes ??€� or perhaps they're meant to mock (who can tell) ??€� to both Eminem and Ice-T and amongst an overall exceptional collection of lyrics, there are a handful of absolutely classic lines. My favorite, and you have to understand that it sounds far better than it will ever read, is a play on the traditional rap call and response "when I say hip, you say hop" in the song "Escape Artist"??€¦.."When I say hip, you say 'shut the fuck up we ain't saying shit', and I'll respect it!"
In that line, when Sage rips apart the oldest clich?© in the hip-hop book, he's really giving a nod to his fans smart enough to realize that this is the new hip-hop, where the artist isn't going to patronize the listener. In the age of bling bling, here's another song about how many cars I have, and how big my wheels are (when the hell did that become cool). Sage Francis is most definitely a breathe of fresh air.
Aside from his lyrics, Sage's beats are also worth mentioning. Instead of rapping over a section of a Broadway show tune (Jay-Z) or some mid-level 1980's pop hit (Eminem), the beats on A Healthy Distrust are provided by true DJ's like Dangermouse and Reanimator which give the music just a little more freshness and credibility.
If you're into hip-hop, or would like to be but are irritated by all of the silliness and posturing in mainstream rap, this album is very much worth checking out, but be sure to get a hold of "Makeshift Patriot" as well, which is a modern classic in protest music.
you just never know when you're living in a golden age.
Very Good Sage Article
Saving Sage Francis
Sage Francis is a packrat, with so much archived material stored away he claims even his mind is cluttered. But the Rhode Island rapper??€�s obsession with the past never leaves him treading familiar territory.
By Martin Turenne / photography by Anthony St. James
You??€�d think a guy who??€�s noted for being one of the best battle rappers in the world would be comfortable talking to you on the phone. But when URB first reaches out to Sage Francis for an interview, his label calls back to tell us that Sage would rather communicate via e-mail, not over the phone.
It seems appropriate, then, that when we finally track him down on the line in Sydney, Australia ??€� where he??€�s wrapping up a pre-Christmas tour ??€� the connection keeps breaking down, four times in the span of 90 minutes. Later, when he??€�s following up with us via e-mail, the Rhode Island rapper explains his aversion to the telephone.
??€?This is why phone interviews are dangerous for me: more often than not,??€? he writes, ??€?I give the wrong answer because I don??€�t feel comfortable enough to make you sit and wait in silence for 5 minutes while I dig into my junky brain and retrieve the real one.??€?
Poring over the tape of our phone conversation, it??€�s hard to detect any hesitation in Sage??€�s responses, most of which come out as fully constructed manifestos. In fact, Francis seems like the sort of person whose every sentence is declarative, each statement delivered with such conviction that it??€�s hard to tell whether there??€�s any vulnerability in him at all.
Still, the part about his brain being ??€?junky??€? makes more sense when you realize how much stuff he keeps stored up there ??€� and everywhere else, for that matter. If there is an overarching lesson Sage seems to be teaching us in his work ??€� from his Anticon debut Personal Journals through last year??€�s Lex collaboration with Joe Beats as Non-Prophets (Hope) to his new solo outing for Epitaph (A Healthy Distrust) ??€� it??€�s that an experience means nothing if we don??€�t document it.
Thus can we understand the obsessive details crammed in his diaristic Personal Journals and the litany of golden-era references on Hope, a pair of albums which aren??€�t so much celebrations of self as celebrations of that self??€�s prodigious memory. In this regard, A Healthy Distrust represents a new high point for Sage, who herewith crams half his life??€�s experiences into 15 compelling tracks. Nowhere is this archival mentality more audible than on ??€?Sea Lion??€?; after folksinger Will Oldham ushers in the tune with creaky-voiced tenderness, Sage??€�s first lines are:
Ma, Ma, look what I did, Ma.
Look what I did to my hands: I broke ??€?em.
You gave me the stone, you gave me the chisel,
But didn??€�t say how to hold ??€?em.
On first hearing these words, their meaning is not readily apparent, but as the song comes to an end, we hear a recording of a little boy asking his mother to teach him how to use a tape deck. The voice we hear is young Sage??€�s, captured at the age of nine.
??€?It??€�s just this tape I??€�ve had hanging around forever,??€? he says of the recording. ??€?At home, I??€�ve got all these archives of material. That??€�s what I do; I??€�m just a packrat of life. I document my existence as it goes and keep everything that represents an aspect of my life that I thought was important. Eventually, it all makes it into my art.??€?
Unlike Personal Journals ??€� which stuck to a narrow (if utterly idiosyncratic) biographical format ??€� Sage??€�s new album finds him taking on the world, positing himself as one among many billions of players strutting and fretting upon this polluted stage called Earth. But where most of us are content to fade into the backdrop, Sage refuses to stand anywhere but center stage.
It's 'Hang the DJ,'
Sage, not the rapper!
Given his background in the worlds of slam poetry and battle rapping, not to mention last year??€�s headline-grabbing Fuck Clear Channel tour, it??€�s no surprise to see him stepping to the fore, venting his spleen at our corporate-sponsored complacency. What separates Sage??€�s screeds from the rote protests offered by most rappers ??€� whether mainstream (the Beastie Boys) or underground (Michael Franti) ??€� is how intricately they??€�re constructed. It??€�s one thing to go on about how much Dubya sucks, but it??€�s quite another to do it with such subtle style ??€� a feat which Francis accomplishes time and again on A Healthy Distrust.
Take for example, ??€?The Buzz Kill,??€? which contains his clever take on America??€�s most recent bout of isolationism: ??€?I freedom kiss the French for their political dissent/Like ??€?moi!??€� I do it with tongue this time.??€? But reading this line in a magazine gives only half the story, because it??€�s the way that Sage puckers up to the microphone on the word ??€?moi??€? that really sells it, a delivery made all the more impressive when Sage tells you it was written months before all the other lyrics in the song.
??€?With every single track I write, at some point I go back through my mental files and incorporate some older idea,??€? he says. ??€?I hearken back to my older material and that always gives me perspective on where I??€�ve been and what I??€�d like to do right now. And when I see the perfect situation for a line like that to be used, I just lock it into place.??€?
Given how its songs were constructed, the most startling aspect of A Healthy Distrust is how tightly it coheres, Sage??€�s lyrics interlocking into dense narratives which practically demand you to shut out the world and listen closely. Quote hunters are rewarded here, too, as Sage serves up a few classics ??€� whether aggressively playful (??€?You??€�re the egg man: a flash in the pan and your yolk is running??€?) or darkly evocative (??€?I put my neck in a noose and swing to safety??€?). Sonically, too, this is the veteran??€�s most impactful statement to date, his voice hurtling through the mix like a hulking steam engine.
??€?With Personal Journals, I recorded it and mixed most of it without really knowing how to use the equipment,??€? he says of his vocals. ??€?That??€�s what offered that project a very raw sound. But on this one, I broke free of that structure and stepped it up a bit. I just wanted to see how I could jump out of the speakers and punch people in the face.??€?
Listeners, then, had better duck down when this album hits, because Sage is swinging at all comers, whether it??€�s homophobic rappers (??€?Gunz Yo??€?), parasitic lovers (??€?Agony in Her Body??€?), or just about everyone else (??€?Slow Down Gandhi??€?). The New Englander even takes a few sidelong swipes at a certain blonde-haired MC, a guy Sage used to do the battle rounds with in the late 1990s. When, during ??€?Dance Monkey,??€? he says ??€?Don??€�t live for the moment, live for the constant,??€? you can??€�t help wondering if Sage Francis has Marshall Mathers in his sights.
??€?Eminem is an artist I don??€�t like talking about because he never has to talk about me,??€? he says flatly. ??€?To me, he really isn??€�t doing anything all that interesting. He??€�s just somehow made his way into the households of America and now he??€�s the Madonna of hip-hop. He does things for attention and shows me basically what it is I??€�m glad I never really got caught up inside of.
??€?He definitely has something going on there,??€? he continues later on, ??€?and it was exploited beautifully by the people around him. He??€�s caught up in that. People will always excuse what they??€�re doing for the amount of money they??€�re making off of it. But then it??€�s hard for people [like me] to criticize someone who??€�s making so much money because that makes them look like they??€�re jealous or something.??€?
As he??€�s quick to stress throughout his discussion of Eminem, Francis is satisfied with his own little slice of domestic bliss, counting himself a happy homeowner who??€�s been living together with his girlfriend (who makes a cameo on ??€?Sea Lion??€?) for over a year now.
While Slim Shady wastes his time on silly beefs and throwaway radio singles, Sage has more pragmatic concerns on his mind, like figuring out which songs to import on his newly-purchased iPod. More than most anyone else who??€�s had to whittle their CD collection down to 4 gigabytes, the iPod game has proven especially hard on this particular packrat.
??€?I??€�ve been importing my whole collection into my hard drive, trying to organize my life a little bit,??€? he says. ??€?It??€�s been crazy. I went through my entire music catalogue and I really had to assess what it is that I enjoy and why and what??€�s worth importing into my computer. It??€�s like shedding skin.??€?
In fact, for all our focus on Sage??€�s archival appetites, the man??€�s career proves that he can recall the past without ever being beholden to it. That??€�s the theme of A Healthy Distrust??€�s ??€?Escape Artist,??€? a metaphorical assessment of his chameleon-like tendencies.
??€?Being that I was involved in battle raps for a long time,??€? he starts, ??€?people wanted to contain me in that little ring of punchlines and mother disses. Eventually, I had to get out of there.
??€?Then it was the same thing with the poetry world,??€? he continues. ??€?I was doing poetry slams but my material exceeded the confines of what slam poetry is. So I had to get out that, too.
??€?This is what it comes down to: for an artist to have longevity, they have to recognize what those boxes are when they??€�re inside them and how to get out of them and move on.??€?
You can only know where you??€�re headed if you know where you??€�ve been. If there??€�s any truth in that saying, Sage Francis is so far ahead of the game he just might lap himself.
??€?I??€�m just a packrat of life. I document my existence and keep everything that represents an aspect of my life that I thought was important. Eventually, it all makes it into my art.??€?
??€?With every track I write, I go back through my mental files and incorporate some older idea. That gives me perspective on where I??€�ve been and what I??€�d like to do now.
Sage Francis is a packrat, with so much archived material stored away he claims even his mind is cluttered. But the Rhode Island rapper??€�s obsession with the past never leaves him treading familiar territory.
By Martin Turenne / photography by Anthony St. James
You??€�d think a guy who??€�s noted for being one of the best battle rappers in the world would be comfortable talking to you on the phone. But when URB first reaches out to Sage Francis for an interview, his label calls back to tell us that Sage would rather communicate via e-mail, not over the phone.
It seems appropriate, then, that when we finally track him down on the line in Sydney, Australia ??€� where he??€�s wrapping up a pre-Christmas tour ??€� the connection keeps breaking down, four times in the span of 90 minutes. Later, when he??€�s following up with us via e-mail, the Rhode Island rapper explains his aversion to the telephone.
??€?This is why phone interviews are dangerous for me: more often than not,??€? he writes, ??€?I give the wrong answer because I don??€�t feel comfortable enough to make you sit and wait in silence for 5 minutes while I dig into my junky brain and retrieve the real one.??€?
Poring over the tape of our phone conversation, it??€�s hard to detect any hesitation in Sage??€�s responses, most of which come out as fully constructed manifestos. In fact, Francis seems like the sort of person whose every sentence is declarative, each statement delivered with such conviction that it??€�s hard to tell whether there??€�s any vulnerability in him at all.
Still, the part about his brain being ??€?junky??€? makes more sense when you realize how much stuff he keeps stored up there ??€� and everywhere else, for that matter. If there is an overarching lesson Sage seems to be teaching us in his work ??€� from his Anticon debut Personal Journals through last year??€�s Lex collaboration with Joe Beats as Non-Prophets (Hope) to his new solo outing for Epitaph (A Healthy Distrust) ??€� it??€�s that an experience means nothing if we don??€�t document it.
Thus can we understand the obsessive details crammed in his diaristic Personal Journals and the litany of golden-era references on Hope, a pair of albums which aren??€�t so much celebrations of self as celebrations of that self??€�s prodigious memory. In this regard, A Healthy Distrust represents a new high point for Sage, who herewith crams half his life??€�s experiences into 15 compelling tracks. Nowhere is this archival mentality more audible than on ??€?Sea Lion??€?; after folksinger Will Oldham ushers in the tune with creaky-voiced tenderness, Sage??€�s first lines are:
Ma, Ma, look what I did, Ma.
Look what I did to my hands: I broke ??€?em.
You gave me the stone, you gave me the chisel,
But didn??€�t say how to hold ??€?em.
On first hearing these words, their meaning is not readily apparent, but as the song comes to an end, we hear a recording of a little boy asking his mother to teach him how to use a tape deck. The voice we hear is young Sage??€�s, captured at the age of nine.
??€?It??€�s just this tape I??€�ve had hanging around forever,??€? he says of the recording. ??€?At home, I??€�ve got all these archives of material. That??€�s what I do; I??€�m just a packrat of life. I document my existence as it goes and keep everything that represents an aspect of my life that I thought was important. Eventually, it all makes it into my art.??€?
Unlike Personal Journals ??€� which stuck to a narrow (if utterly idiosyncratic) biographical format ??€� Sage??€�s new album finds him taking on the world, positing himself as one among many billions of players strutting and fretting upon this polluted stage called Earth. But where most of us are content to fade into the backdrop, Sage refuses to stand anywhere but center stage.
It's 'Hang the DJ,'
Sage, not the rapper!
Given his background in the worlds of slam poetry and battle rapping, not to mention last year??€�s headline-grabbing Fuck Clear Channel tour, it??€�s no surprise to see him stepping to the fore, venting his spleen at our corporate-sponsored complacency. What separates Sage??€�s screeds from the rote protests offered by most rappers ??€� whether mainstream (the Beastie Boys) or underground (Michael Franti) ??€� is how intricately they??€�re constructed. It??€�s one thing to go on about how much Dubya sucks, but it??€�s quite another to do it with such subtle style ??€� a feat which Francis accomplishes time and again on A Healthy Distrust.
Take for example, ??€?The Buzz Kill,??€? which contains his clever take on America??€�s most recent bout of isolationism: ??€?I freedom kiss the French for their political dissent/Like ??€?moi!??€� I do it with tongue this time.??€? But reading this line in a magazine gives only half the story, because it??€�s the way that Sage puckers up to the microphone on the word ??€?moi??€? that really sells it, a delivery made all the more impressive when Sage tells you it was written months before all the other lyrics in the song.
??€?With every single track I write, at some point I go back through my mental files and incorporate some older idea,??€? he says. ??€?I hearken back to my older material and that always gives me perspective on where I??€�ve been and what I??€�d like to do right now. And when I see the perfect situation for a line like that to be used, I just lock it into place.??€?
Given how its songs were constructed, the most startling aspect of A Healthy Distrust is how tightly it coheres, Sage??€�s lyrics interlocking into dense narratives which practically demand you to shut out the world and listen closely. Quote hunters are rewarded here, too, as Sage serves up a few classics ??€� whether aggressively playful (??€?You??€�re the egg man: a flash in the pan and your yolk is running??€?) or darkly evocative (??€?I put my neck in a noose and swing to safety??€?). Sonically, too, this is the veteran??€�s most impactful statement to date, his voice hurtling through the mix like a hulking steam engine.
??€?With Personal Journals, I recorded it and mixed most of it without really knowing how to use the equipment,??€? he says of his vocals. ??€?That??€�s what offered that project a very raw sound. But on this one, I broke free of that structure and stepped it up a bit. I just wanted to see how I could jump out of the speakers and punch people in the face.??€?
Listeners, then, had better duck down when this album hits, because Sage is swinging at all comers, whether it??€�s homophobic rappers (??€?Gunz Yo??€?), parasitic lovers (??€?Agony in Her Body??€?), or just about everyone else (??€?Slow Down Gandhi??€?). The New Englander even takes a few sidelong swipes at a certain blonde-haired MC, a guy Sage used to do the battle rounds with in the late 1990s. When, during ??€?Dance Monkey,??€? he says ??€?Don??€�t live for the moment, live for the constant,??€? you can??€�t help wondering if Sage Francis has Marshall Mathers in his sights.
??€?Eminem is an artist I don??€�t like talking about because he never has to talk about me,??€? he says flatly. ??€?To me, he really isn??€�t doing anything all that interesting. He??€�s just somehow made his way into the households of America and now he??€�s the Madonna of hip-hop. He does things for attention and shows me basically what it is I??€�m glad I never really got caught up inside of.
??€?He definitely has something going on there,??€? he continues later on, ??€?and it was exploited beautifully by the people around him. He??€�s caught up in that. People will always excuse what they??€�re doing for the amount of money they??€�re making off of it. But then it??€�s hard for people [like me] to criticize someone who??€�s making so much money because that makes them look like they??€�re jealous or something.??€?
As he??€�s quick to stress throughout his discussion of Eminem, Francis is satisfied with his own little slice of domestic bliss, counting himself a happy homeowner who??€�s been living together with his girlfriend (who makes a cameo on ??€?Sea Lion??€?) for over a year now.
While Slim Shady wastes his time on silly beefs and throwaway radio singles, Sage has more pragmatic concerns on his mind, like figuring out which songs to import on his newly-purchased iPod. More than most anyone else who??€�s had to whittle their CD collection down to 4 gigabytes, the iPod game has proven especially hard on this particular packrat.
??€?I??€�ve been importing my whole collection into my hard drive, trying to organize my life a little bit,??€? he says. ??€?It??€�s been crazy. I went through my entire music catalogue and I really had to assess what it is that I enjoy and why and what??€�s worth importing into my computer. It??€�s like shedding skin.??€?
In fact, for all our focus on Sage??€�s archival appetites, the man??€�s career proves that he can recall the past without ever being beholden to it. That??€�s the theme of A Healthy Distrust??€�s ??€?Escape Artist,??€? a metaphorical assessment of his chameleon-like tendencies.
??€?Being that I was involved in battle raps for a long time,??€? he starts, ??€?people wanted to contain me in that little ring of punchlines and mother disses. Eventually, I had to get out of there.
??€?Then it was the same thing with the poetry world,??€? he continues. ??€?I was doing poetry slams but my material exceeded the confines of what slam poetry is. So I had to get out that, too.
??€?This is what it comes down to: for an artist to have longevity, they have to recognize what those boxes are when they??€�re inside them and how to get out of them and move on.??€?
You can only know where you??€�re headed if you know where you??€�ve been. If there??€�s any truth in that saying, Sage Francis is so far ahead of the game he just might lap himself.
??€?I??€�m just a packrat of life. I document my existence and keep everything that represents an aspect of my life that I thought was important. Eventually, it all makes it into my art.??€?
??€?With every track I write, I go back through my mental files and incorporate some older idea. That gives me perspective on where I??€�ve been and what I??€�d like to do now.
you just never know when you're living in a golden age.
Sage in Slap
Sage Francis Audio Interview
Sage Concert Review + Video Interview
Sage and Sole Audio Interview
Q&A with Sage Francis conducted on Oct. 26 at the Grand in SF.
ch-ch-ch-check it ouuttt!
Sage Francis Audio Interview
Sage Concert Review + Video Interview
Sage and Sole Audio Interview
Q&A with Sage Francis conducted on Oct. 26 at the Grand in SF.
ch-ch-ch-check it ouuttt!
you just never know when you're living in a golden age.
am citit p'aci si tot ce ma deranjaza cu adevarat e ca de cateva ori am tot citit expresia : de colectie. nu e de colectie. e pt cine il vrea... ce e aia sa ti ceva doar asa...? stiu ca unii s'au referit la el prin "de colectie" adica ceva f bun. dar mai stiu ca sunt multi care il au .. pt ca era in c:/muzica/hip-hop la cineva pe calculator
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tzele
- spre 5000 de posturi, e ok
- Posts: 1484
- Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2005 10:51 pm
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piesa preferata de pe albumu asta nou e jah didn't kill johnny...am auzit ca sage e singuru de pana acum care a facut o pesa in memoria lu johnny cash.Prea tare albumu...sun vs moon mai e tare ,slow down ghandi...cam tot albumu,chiar daca nu l-am ascultat chiar pe tot in profunzime,dar imi fac timp odata sa ascult klumea discografia sage...merita.
Life and Times of S. Francis
By Justin Strauss
It wasn't supposed to be like this. 2005 was poised as the year of underground Hip Hop. It was penciled in, and practically every indie rapper under the sun stood in the green room, anxiously clutching their crossover albums in one hand, backpack straps in the other. Years of "next rap explosion" were set to culminate in a complete industry takeover; or to be more accurate, a taking back of this genre once so respectable. When the curtain rose on the year, however, the mass market had already gone home, and thousands of liberal arts students seemed suddenly aware that a Slug is a sea mollusk, and Aesop told stories to little kids.
"There has to be a reason for it," says Sage Francis, one of the frontrunners of the scene. Last year Sage released the critically lauded, commercially ignored A Healthy Distrust on the heavily punk rock Epitaph label, a move that seemed to only confirm the underground's mainstream momentum. Entertainment Weekly praised the album's "ferocity," and Blender said, "His fire-and-brimstone confessionals are as complex as they are venomous." What's more, the Rhode Island native, along with contemporaries MF Doom, Immortal Technique, and K-Os, rocked the annual Coachella Festival in California last summer. "It was a hundred degrees out and it was just miserable," says Francis. "I had been watching the other performers and I got a real sick feeling. I kind of screamed out 'I hate Weezer!' and fuckin' plowed into our set. I could say that was one of my favorite performances to date." It may not move millions of units, but this is still rap, and if there's one characteristic the underground world will not surrender, it's attitude, and despite the rough year, Francis remains firm. "I think mainstream rap is at the same stage big-hair rock was in the late 80's," says Francis. "I mean people are getting burned out on it." Sage points to a black hole of charisma from the superstars of right now, as opposed to say LL Cool J in the 80's or Jay-Z in the 90's. "There's always gonna be sub par people getting accolades. But they're not even entertaining like Britney Spears is!" Referring to last year's particularly infuriating MTV VMA's, in which host Diddy literally tossed out jewelry and cash, giving an entire genre an even worse name in one fell swoop, Sage points out, "These guys can't even rap and it's their job. I'm not saying they should be flashy. I'm not saying they should have dance routines, although they might as well. They're just trying to get over on the power of their hit and mope around on stage like fuckin' idiots."
In the last couple of years, the largest amount of buzz has circled around another self-proclaimed "backpacker." Kanye West, before the gold diggers and Jesus poses, wore Polo shirts and spit verses that bore more than a passing resemblance to what emo rappers like Atmosphere had been playing with for years. West didn't just come from out of nowhere; he seemed to represent the perfect spawn of "conscious" rap like Mos Def and Aceyalone, and the flashy materialism of the Dirty. There may have been, however, some wolf in the sheep's linen suit, and Francis claims to see through it all. Throwing Common in the mix for good measure, he says, "I don't buy it. I've followed them through the years. I've listened to how they talk. I've seen them live and it doesn't translate. I'm not gonna buy into them being ultra-conscious, pro-black leaders. I didn't listen to [Late Registration] cause I felt duped by the first album."
Francis says he is taking some time off this year, but with the nation facing another election that may actually be important for our future, don't expect an artist coming off a tour sponsored by Knowmore.org (a heavily left-leaning news site), and who made his name with "Makeshift Patriot," a response to the trampling of civil rights in the wake of 9/11, to stay quiet for long. "I think [Katrina] raised the consciousness to problems in America really well," says Sage. "That's the only upside. Maybe this is one step closer to Bush getting impeached. Just getting everyone on the same page, like 'Holy cow, this guy is incompetent. He doesn't care.'"
Sound like a familiar refrain? Perhaps the alienation gap between true underground rap and Mr. West isn't all that large after all. "Yeah, he's the guy who said it," admits Sage. "Everyone else was not saying it. I tip my hat to that. Does he truly understand the complexities of what happens in our country and what happens worldwide? No, I don't think he does. I think he's an arrogant loudmouth, [but] I think it's important that he used the opportunity."
And it's here we get to the very core of why indie rap's bubble burst last year. Why A Healthy Distrust, along with every single underground Hip Hop record last year failed to clear 100,000. Why, for example, Sage Francis' eloquent dissection of "Slow Down Gandhi," (Who's the one to blame for this strain in my vocal chords/ Who can pen a hateful threat but can't hold a sword/ It's the same who complain about the global war/But can't overthrow the local joker that they voted for) can never compete with "George Bush doesn't care about black people." What practically any music executive, MTV production assistant, or even retail chain clerk can tell you is that mainstream has no time for all that. Sound bites. Chi-lites samples. White tees. In a modern music business hemorrhaging cash, an industry that can no longer afford to take "chances" or nurture "talent," playing their game is a survival instinct.
Lucky for us the underground scene only knows how to play Dominoes.
By Justin Strauss
It wasn't supposed to be like this. 2005 was poised as the year of underground Hip Hop. It was penciled in, and practically every indie rapper under the sun stood in the green room, anxiously clutching their crossover albums in one hand, backpack straps in the other. Years of "next rap explosion" were set to culminate in a complete industry takeover; or to be more accurate, a taking back of this genre once so respectable. When the curtain rose on the year, however, the mass market had already gone home, and thousands of liberal arts students seemed suddenly aware that a Slug is a sea mollusk, and Aesop told stories to little kids.
"There has to be a reason for it," says Sage Francis, one of the frontrunners of the scene. Last year Sage released the critically lauded, commercially ignored A Healthy Distrust on the heavily punk rock Epitaph label, a move that seemed to only confirm the underground's mainstream momentum. Entertainment Weekly praised the album's "ferocity," and Blender said, "His fire-and-brimstone confessionals are as complex as they are venomous." What's more, the Rhode Island native, along with contemporaries MF Doom, Immortal Technique, and K-Os, rocked the annual Coachella Festival in California last summer. "It was a hundred degrees out and it was just miserable," says Francis. "I had been watching the other performers and I got a real sick feeling. I kind of screamed out 'I hate Weezer!' and fuckin' plowed into our set. I could say that was one of my favorite performances to date." It may not move millions of units, but this is still rap, and if there's one characteristic the underground world will not surrender, it's attitude, and despite the rough year, Francis remains firm. "I think mainstream rap is at the same stage big-hair rock was in the late 80's," says Francis. "I mean people are getting burned out on it." Sage points to a black hole of charisma from the superstars of right now, as opposed to say LL Cool J in the 80's or Jay-Z in the 90's. "There's always gonna be sub par people getting accolades. But they're not even entertaining like Britney Spears is!" Referring to last year's particularly infuriating MTV VMA's, in which host Diddy literally tossed out jewelry and cash, giving an entire genre an even worse name in one fell swoop, Sage points out, "These guys can't even rap and it's their job. I'm not saying they should be flashy. I'm not saying they should have dance routines, although they might as well. They're just trying to get over on the power of their hit and mope around on stage like fuckin' idiots."
In the last couple of years, the largest amount of buzz has circled around another self-proclaimed "backpacker." Kanye West, before the gold diggers and Jesus poses, wore Polo shirts and spit verses that bore more than a passing resemblance to what emo rappers like Atmosphere had been playing with for years. West didn't just come from out of nowhere; he seemed to represent the perfect spawn of "conscious" rap like Mos Def and Aceyalone, and the flashy materialism of the Dirty. There may have been, however, some wolf in the sheep's linen suit, and Francis claims to see through it all. Throwing Common in the mix for good measure, he says, "I don't buy it. I've followed them through the years. I've listened to how they talk. I've seen them live and it doesn't translate. I'm not gonna buy into them being ultra-conscious, pro-black leaders. I didn't listen to [Late Registration] cause I felt duped by the first album."
Francis says he is taking some time off this year, but with the nation facing another election that may actually be important for our future, don't expect an artist coming off a tour sponsored by Knowmore.org (a heavily left-leaning news site), and who made his name with "Makeshift Patriot," a response to the trampling of civil rights in the wake of 9/11, to stay quiet for long. "I think [Katrina] raised the consciousness to problems in America really well," says Sage. "That's the only upside. Maybe this is one step closer to Bush getting impeached. Just getting everyone on the same page, like 'Holy cow, this guy is incompetent. He doesn't care.'"
Sound like a familiar refrain? Perhaps the alienation gap between true underground rap and Mr. West isn't all that large after all. "Yeah, he's the guy who said it," admits Sage. "Everyone else was not saying it. I tip my hat to that. Does he truly understand the complexities of what happens in our country and what happens worldwide? No, I don't think he does. I think he's an arrogant loudmouth, [but] I think it's important that he used the opportunity."
And it's here we get to the very core of why indie rap's bubble burst last year. Why A Healthy Distrust, along with every single underground Hip Hop record last year failed to clear 100,000. Why, for example, Sage Francis' eloquent dissection of "Slow Down Gandhi," (Who's the one to blame for this strain in my vocal chords/ Who can pen a hateful threat but can't hold a sword/ It's the same who complain about the global war/But can't overthrow the local joker that they voted for) can never compete with "George Bush doesn't care about black people." What practically any music executive, MTV production assistant, or even retail chain clerk can tell you is that mainstream has no time for all that. Sound bites. Chi-lites samples. White tees. In a modern music business hemorrhaging cash, an industry that can no longer afford to take "chances" or nurture "talent," playing their game is a survival instinct.
Lucky for us the underground scene only knows how to play Dominoes.
![[img=http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/2521/p119631050.jpg]](http://img709.imageshack.us/i/p119631050.jpg/){kind=link}