Biography
Known for their charged fusion of reggae, rock, hip-hop, funk, and EDM, Spearhead has long served as the creative vehicle for California singer and songwriter Michael Franti. Guiding the project since its 1994 launch, Franti steered its direction from the funk- and rap-heavy approach heard on 1997’s Chocolate Supa Highway and the widely praised 2001 set Stay Human toward the relaxed melodic focus of 2010’s The Sound of Sunshine and 2016’s SoulRocker. Early releases appeared under the Spearhead name alone, yet the moniker gradually came to signify Franti’s supporting ensemble, whose shifting lineup retained only a handful of consistent members such as bassist Carl Young.
After issuing one record as half of the rap duo Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Franti resurfaced in 1994 fronting Spearhead, a group more firmly anchored in 1970s funk. Moving away from the beat-driven style of his previous outfit, Franti and producer Joe “The Butcha” Nicolo assembled a live quartet augmented by backing vocalist Mary Harris and toaster Ras I. Zulu. Cuts including “Runfayalife” and “Crime to Be Broke in America” summoned the spirit of Sly & the Family Stone’s early-1970s vision, while Franti’s humanist perspective surfaced in titles such as “Love Is da Shit,” “Piece O’Peace,” and “Positive.”
Three years passed before Chocolate Supa Highway arrived, though Franti sustained the group’s communal spirit through well-received Spearhead concerts in the interim. Another extended studio absence—interrupted only by the spoken-word set Live at Baobab and assorted side projects—ended in 2001 with Stay Human, now credited to Michael Franti and Spearhead. Constructed around the fictional narrative of Sister Fatima, a healer and activist executed for a crime her community believed she had not committed, the album employed traditional hip-hop interludes to dramatize Stay Human Radio’s coverage of her impending execution, allowing Franti to address capital punishment, environmental issues, and racial tolerance.
In 2003 Franti issued the solo acoustic collection Songs from the Front Porch alongside the new Spearhead album Everyone Deserves Music. That release continued the shift from hip-hop toward acoustic funk and included the protest anthem “Bomb the World,” whose lyric declares, “You can bomb the world to pieces/But you can’t bomb it into peace.” Love Kamikaze: The Lost Sex Singles & Collectors’ Remixes surfaced in 2005 under Franti’s name alone, gathering previously unreleased Spearhead material and alternate mixes from Stay Human. Yell Fire! followed in 2006, recorded partly in Kingston, Jamaica, and forming—together with the book and film I Know I’m Not Alone—a trilogy drawn from Franti’s travels through Israel, Palestine, and Iraq.
A series of live documents bridged the period leading to 2008’s All Rebel Rockers, again tracked in Jamaica with the storied rhythm section Sly & Robbie. After several months on the road supporting John Mayer, Franti and the band reconvened to make 2010’s The Sound of Sunshine, an album marked by an especially hopeful outlook that stemmed from Franti’s recovery after rupturing his appendix on tour. All People, released in 2013, briefly favored bright electronic pop over the folk- and reggae-leaning sound of recent Spearhead work, an approach that carried partially into 2016’s SoulRocker while ultimately yielding to more organic arrangements. Issued alongside Franti’s 2018 documentary Stay Human, the album Stay Human II encompassed the full breadth of the band’s stylistic range.
After issuing one record as half of the rap duo Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Franti resurfaced in 1994 fronting Spearhead, a group more firmly anchored in 1970s funk. Moving away from the beat-driven style of his previous outfit, Franti and producer Joe “The Butcha” Nicolo assembled a live quartet augmented by backing vocalist Mary Harris and toaster Ras I. Zulu. Cuts including “Runfayalife” and “Crime to Be Broke in America” summoned the spirit of Sly & the Family Stone’s early-1970s vision, while Franti’s humanist perspective surfaced in titles such as “Love Is da Shit,” “Piece O’Peace,” and “Positive.”
Three years passed before Chocolate Supa Highway arrived, though Franti sustained the group’s communal spirit through well-received Spearhead concerts in the interim. Another extended studio absence—interrupted only by the spoken-word set Live at Baobab and assorted side projects—ended in 2001 with Stay Human, now credited to Michael Franti and Spearhead. Constructed around the fictional narrative of Sister Fatima, a healer and activist executed for a crime her community believed she had not committed, the album employed traditional hip-hop interludes to dramatize Stay Human Radio’s coverage of her impending execution, allowing Franti to address capital punishment, environmental issues, and racial tolerance.
In 2003 Franti issued the solo acoustic collection Songs from the Front Porch alongside the new Spearhead album Everyone Deserves Music. That release continued the shift from hip-hop toward acoustic funk and included the protest anthem “Bomb the World,” whose lyric declares, “You can bomb the world to pieces/But you can’t bomb it into peace.” Love Kamikaze: The Lost Sex Singles & Collectors’ Remixes surfaced in 2005 under Franti’s name alone, gathering previously unreleased Spearhead material and alternate mixes from Stay Human. Yell Fire! followed in 2006, recorded partly in Kingston, Jamaica, and forming—together with the book and film I Know I’m Not Alone—a trilogy drawn from Franti’s travels through Israel, Palestine, and Iraq.
A series of live documents bridged the period leading to 2008’s All Rebel Rockers, again tracked in Jamaica with the storied rhythm section Sly & Robbie. After several months on the road supporting John Mayer, Franti and the band reconvened to make 2010’s The Sound of Sunshine, an album marked by an especially hopeful outlook that stemmed from Franti’s recovery after rupturing his appendix on tour. All People, released in 2013, briefly favored bright electronic pop over the folk- and reggae-leaning sound of recent Spearhead work, an approach that carried partially into 2016’s SoulRocker while ultimately yielding to more organic arrangements. Issued alongside Franti’s 2018 documentary Stay Human, the album Stay Human II encompassed the full breadth of the band’s stylistic range.
Albums
Live
