The Revenge!
By: Travis Naegle

            The residents of Providence, Rhode Island must be damn proud of Sage Francis. The MC has been a favorite in underground hip-hop for over a decade, released several studio and live albums, and started his own label, Strange Famous Records. Sage’s new album, Human The Death Dance, is slated for a May 8th release, and fans had better get ready for a sixteen-track opus of pure, unapologetic hip-hop.
If you’re going to write him off just because of the word ‘hip-hop’, you should really reconsider. There’s no talk of bling, cars, money, or women. There are no songs featuring Nelly or The Game. Sage delivers real, down-to-earth hip-hop with a punk rock attitude. “My music is vulnerable in its honesty”, says Sage. “Some hip-hop can be about cars and bling and shit, but that’s fantasy rap. I don’t care about that, that’s not how people live. I’m trying to cut through all of the bullshit and show you the other side of the coin”. Sage raps about his personal experiences, relationships, and political and economic issues, the latter being a great passion of his. He is affiliated with knowmore.org, a search engine designed to better inform consumers of the products they buy into and promote social and economic consciousness. Although his political awareness is a common theme in his music, the new record shows Sage in a different light.
Human The Death Dance marks Sage’s third release on the well-know punk label Epitaph. The record is probably Sage’s most personal yet, most notably on the opening track “Underground for Dumies”, a lyrical timeline of Sage’s life as an MC. “I felt like it was time to do that kind of song. I continually see criticism of me that overlooks the past, so I decided to lay it out, a play by play of my career and how I got here”. The song “Clickety Clack” is about a darker time in Sage’s life, more specifically when he was robbed in Amsterdam. “Basically, someone stole my bag while I was at an internet café. I was left with nothing, no money, no ID, and no passport. All of that shit is replaceable, but one thing I will never get back is this notebook I had, a journal of the last two years of my life. They took more than they know, and I needed to get something out of this really low point in my life, so this is essentially a song about revenge”. Even the track’s beat was inspired by the event in a fairly unique way. “I was depressed, walking around Amsterdam with nothing and nowhere to be. This horse trotted by and the sound of the trot caught my attention. When I finally came home, I had that sound in my head, and I immediately made the beat. It’s funny how things can happen that way”.
Sage Francis is well known for his explosive live show, a performance that he’s been perfecting since he was in his teens. He’s headlining the Human The Death Dance Tour this summer, with 60 shows across the U.S. featuring Buck 65, Buddy Wakefield, and Alias. “The West Coast underground hip-hop scene is through the roof. There’s no other place like it for independent hip-hop, but if we can make this work on the East Coast, then I think we will have struck a chord”. Sage will get his fix of the West Coast this summer on tour, which includes the Rock The Bells festivals. He’ll perform alongside Rage Against The Machine and Wu-Tang Clan for two shows in California and one date in New York.
You’d better believe he’s out to make his music heard all over the country. Sage started his own label, Strange Famous Records, to put out his own music as well as some of his favorite underground artists. His first signings to the label are tour buddies Buddy Wakefield and Prolyphic, a slam poet and longtime friend/hip-hop artist, respectively. The label enables Sage to release his own music on his own and at his own pace, including mix tapes, solo and collaborative projects, and other underground artists.
With Human The Death Dance on the way and a summer filled with tour dates and in-store appearances, Sage Francis has got plenty on his plate. Unfortunately, as of press time, there is no Vegas date on the tour, so you’ll have to head elsewhere for the live show.Check out SageFrancis.net and knowmore.org for more.