# Michael Franti

Michael Franti (born 21 April 1966) is an American rapper, musician, poet, activist, documentarian, and singer-songwriter, known for his participation in many musical projects, most with a political and social emphasis, including the Beatnigs and the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. He is the creator and lead vocalist of his current independent project, Michael Franti & Spearhead, a band that blends hip hop with a variety of other styles including funk, reggae, jazz, folk, and rock. He is also an outspoken supporter for a wide spectrum of peace and social justice issues, and he is especially an advocate for peace in the Middle East.

## Quotes

* Sometimes, I feel like I can do anything, and, sometimes, I'm so alive, sometimes, I feel like I could zoom across the sky and, sometimes, I wanna cry.
** Sometimes, Stay Human (2001)
* The harder they hit us, the louder we become, kind of like the skin on a drum.
** Skin On The Drum, Stay Human (2001)
* Don't fear the nighttime, cause the monsters know that you're divine. Don't fear the sunshine, cause everything's better in the summertime
** Never Too Late, Everyone Deserves Music (2003)
* We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can't bomb it into peace.
** Bomb the World, Everyone Deserves Music (2003)
* Life is too short to make just one decision, music is too loud for just one station, love is too big for just one nation, and God is too big for just one religion!
** East to the West, Yell Fire! (2006)
* Those who start wars never fight them, and those who fight wars never like them.
** Time to Go Home, Yell Fire! (2006)
* Every bit of land is a holy land, and every drop of water is a holy water, and every single child is a son or a daughter of the one earth mama, and the one earth papa.
** Hello, Bonjour, Yell Fire! (2006)
* You say you're a Christian, cause God made you, you say you're a Muslim cause God made you, you say you're a Hindu and the next man a Jew, but then we all kill each other cause God told us to? Naw!
** Hello, Bonjour, Yell Fire! (2006)
* The human interest, and the natural interest, and the spiritual interest of this planet need to begin to take a priority over the corporate interest, the military interest, and the materialistic interests.
** Live performance at the RNC
* I've never really been into flags of any kind, cause flags can bring people together, but they always bring people together against other people, and I don't really consider myself to be a patriot in the sense that I say, 'okay, this is my nation,' I consider myself to be a child of this whole planet.
** Interview, live at Coachella
* People ask me a lot, 'what can one person do,' and I say 'I'm not really sure what one person can due except come together with other people.'
** Interview, live at Coachella
* I'm glad Bush is coming out so strongly against gay marriage, because I think it's time in this country for people to wake up... If your partner happens to be the same sex as you, I don't have a problem with that and I don't think anyone else should. We're not doing a service to our kids by cloistering them from reality. It's better to discuss reality.
** Interview with CollageFoundation.org
* A lot of times we look at the whole world and think, 'it's so daunting, how can we change the whole world?' and you don't need to do that, what you need to do is change your world a little bit, and see if you can, through example, inspire others to do the same thing.
** Michael Franti Interview
* My goal has not ever been to change minds, my goal is to open minds.
** Michael Franti Interview
* I think after 9/11, when we were in our moment of greatest sadness as a nation... this small group of neo-conservatives used our pain in order to set their agenda on their course.
** Michael Franti Interview
* It shouldn't be a Republican or Democratic issue whether we take care of the environment. That should be a human issue.
** Michael Franti Interview

## Notes

* ↑ "Power to the Peaceful: An Interview With Michael Franti", The Collage Foundation Inc.