Sage Francis Shrugs the World’s Dirt Off His Shoulder in Style

Sage Francis has always considered himself an iconoclast. The Providence, RI-based MC hasn’t fit the rap mold from the beginning: He’s known for wearing Metallica t-shirts to rap battles, sporting a shaved head and abstaining from drugs and alcohol, and he possesses an astonishing ability for rapid-fire delivery and a propensity for soul-baring rhymes, along with a heady dose of freestyle flair. It’s as if he’s the illegitimate offspring of Henry Rollins and Lil Kim—his newest album, Human the Death Dance, finds him straddling that no-man’s land between punk and hip-hop, carving his own niche in the scene. It’s a tough row to hoe.

“Magazines like Vibe and The Source don’t care about me,” Francis admits. “They did a whole piece on the Rhode Island scene, and didn’t mention me once, although at the time, I was the only rapper here with a record under my belt. Not that I care—the only person I can worry about is me. I’m not gonna be an Eminem for them.”

Human the Death Dance, Francis’ fourth solo album and second Epitaph release, offers plenty for fans to worry about. While its predecessor, A Healthy Distrust, was a well-conceived political manifesto, here, Francis uses rap backbeats—and, on “Got Up This Morning,” the blues, courtesy of label mate Jolie Holland and musical compatriot Buck 65—to chronicle more personal affairs. Namely, the last two years of his life, which included a 14-month stint spent touring Europe, Asia, Australia and North America, a heart-wrenching break from the love of his life, and attacks from would-be gangstas and poseurs on the contemporary hip-hop scene.

“It’s been a hell of a year,” he muses on one track, refusing to take responsibility for the rest of the world’s problems. “You say I ain’t there, I ain’t care, and life ain’t fair / It’s been a hell of a trip.”

The disc’s fiery opener, “Underground for Dummies,” serves as Francis’ take on “December 4th,” an autobiographical track on Jay-Z’s The Black Album.

“Stalkin…walkin in my big black boots / I’m the D.I.Y. artist with thick grass roots,” he explains, before listing his own credentials, which include taking top honors at the 1999 Superbowl Battle and the 2000 Scribble Jam, and name-checking fellow East Coast MCs Chuck D., KRS-One, Jeru the Damaja and even Jay-Z.

“I’ve been listening to rap for the last 20 years,” Francis notes. “I didn’t get into hardcore music until much later, but once I did, I became really attracted to the independent spirit of that scene. I took a lot of those ideas and applied them to my own life.”

This entry was posted by RNYK on Monday, May 28th, 2007 at 9:00 am