Sage Francis
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Paul "Sage" Francis (born September 11, 1976 in Miami, Florida) is a hip-hop artist based out of Providence, Rhode Island.
History
Prior to embarking on a full-time career as an MC, Francis was a noted slam poet. During the late 1990s, he recorded his first demo tape (1996), fronted the now defunct Providence hip-hop band Art Official Intelligence, and hosted a weekly slot on independent radio station WRIU (the "True School Session"). He also formed the "Non-Prophets" with producer friend Joe Beats, and the duo released a 12” ("Drop Bass/Bounce/I Keep Calling", Emerge Records, 1999), following up in 2003 with their first full-length offering, Hope. An acclaimed freestyle battler, Francis won the MC battle at the 2000 Scribble Jam. In 2001, he repeated his performance under his "metal" alter ego, "Xaul Zan".
Francis is a frequent collaborator with such "indie-hop," underground hip-hop artists as Slug, Eyedea, and the Anticon collective. He is also loosely affiliated with the vague underground hip-hop supergroup The Orphanage.
One of Francis's best-known tracks is "Makeshift Patriot", a commentary on the American media recorded one month after the September 11, 2001 attacks which he released on the internet as an MP3 as well as a limited edition 7" single. Francis became the first hip-hop artist to sign with Punk label Epitaph Records when he agreed a three-album deal in 2003.
In 2004, Francis appeared on-stage at Rock the Bells in San Bernardino, CA. This concert is notable for having been the final (and first in several years) performance of the entire 10-member Wu-Tang Clan.
Discography
- Still Sick... Urine Trouble (Strange Famous Records, 2000)
- Sick Of Waiting Tables (Strange Famous Records, 2001)
- The Known Unsoldier, "Sick Of Waging War..." (Strange Famous records, 2002)
- Personal Journals (Anticon Records, 2002)
- Hope (w/ Joe Beats as Non-Prophets, Lex Records, 2003)
- Sickly Business (Strange Famous Records, 2004)
- Dead Poet Live Album ' (Strange Famous Records, 2004)
- A Healthy Distrust (Epitaph Records, 2005)
External links and further reading
- Official Sage Francis website (http://www.sagefrancis.net/)