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Kidnapped, eaten and spit out by multinational media companies, hip-hop is not what it used to be.

Today, the standard money-hungry rappers who sing female-degrading texts to ready-made beats top the charts. Meanwhile the underground movement has become stronger. As a reaction against mainstream hip-hop, a new generation of American rappers who are strongly critical of the society they have grown up in are suspected to exist. 

One artist originating from the industry rich underground is Sage Francis. Everything he does is marked by a nerve and anger against ignorance and narrow mindedness at what he deems to have taken over America. Sage Francis is a part of the movement that represents an alternative to chart topping music. Without a large recording company, he has successfully achieved the sale of 100,000 records, toured around the world and made himself a name both in and out of the hip-hop world. 

Paul Francis, as baptised by his mother, grew up in Providence, on the east coast of the USA. As an 8-year old, he had already begun recording songs on his cassette tape recorder. When hip-hop made its entry during the 1980s, the young Paul became obsessed. He indiscriminately devoured up all hip-hop related material.

“Coming from a little hole gave me incredible ambitions. I had no one else to compare me to except my idols from the hip-hop elite. To be acknowledged as an artist, I was forced to go to other cities. To be respected, I was forced to be much better than all others, to really surpass the listeners’ expectations. When I was younger, I really wanted to be accepted and recognised within the world of hip-hop. I’ve now run my gauntlet and have come to the point when I no longer need to take shit. I can now do it my way without bending my ideals.”

He has given out numerous vinyl 12” lp’s and home produced albums throughout the years. In 2002 Sage Francis released a solo album entitled Personal Journals, via the small independent label called Anticon. The record is a self-examination voyage into his inner darkness. Often, Sage Francis comfortably goes way outside hip-hops strict framework and traditional tune structure. His career really took off with Personal Journals and the record sold well despite an almost non-existent marketing. One of Sage Francis’ most frequented collaborative partners is DJ and producer Joe Beats. They call themselves the Non-Prophets when making music together. Released last year, their perfect record Hope is a nostalgic look back at hip-hops glory days, and for Sage Francis himself, the recording means a retreat to a more conventional hip-hop.

“When I released Personal Journals, many thought that I didn’t have any traditional support in hip-hop, which was completely wrong. Everything that I had done until then was strictly verse-refrain-verse conventional hip-hop. I wanted to finish my Non-Prophets project that I had already started in 1998 with Joe Beats, which is obvious and straight rap with beats and clear tune structures. On my upcoming album, I have worked with a number of producers, giving me more freedom to really try and develop myself and shift the boundaries of how the music will sound.” 

-It is going better than ever for you. You signed with the legendary punk label Epitaph, your latest record A Healthy Distrust has sold really well and you are touring around Europe. How do you think success affects you?

“There is a core in everything I do, and this comes from a dark place within me. My expression is a directly connected to my way of living with myself. This relationship will not change and in this way, I don’t think that my way of making music or my viewpoints will especially change much. Of course, it brings with it economic advantages. I now live more comfortably than I ever have. I already earn more money than both of my parents combined. I cannot complain about that. But money has never been something of an end in itself.”

Written by Eigil Söderin

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