Michael Franti at The Factory in Deep Ellum

Fusing themes of love, community, and social consciousness with a distinctive cocktail of R&B, hip-hop, soul, folk, rock, and reggae, singer/songwriter and poet Michael Franti established himself in the late ’80s with ambitious projects like the Beatnigs and the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy before forming his longtime backing band, Spearhead, in the early ’90s. Moving beyond the angry, politically charged punk and hip-hop of his early days, Franti used Spearhead as a vehicle for channeling his innate seriousness, social unease, and desire for change into a more compassionate and positive musical force that produced albums like Stay Human (2001), Everyone Deserves Music (2003), and All People (2016). Through his use of his own raw power — charisma, sex appeal, sense of social injustice — he has carried out in his music a community-generated passion in much the same way as Gil Scott-Heron or Marvin Gaye.

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