Sage Francis

Dubbed the forefather of indie-hop, Sage Francis is widely considered one of our generation’s greatest lyricists. Stirred by a mix of nonconformism and internal turmoil, his gifted wordplay creates vivid narratives to instigate as well as inspire. Francis gained acclaim in the early 2000s by winning one of the highest titles of the MC battle circuit. At the same time, he caused waves in the newly burgeoning spoken word scene. Despite having no formal distribution, Francis’ unique brand spread like wildfire thanks to the advent of file-sharing networks. With his first studio album, Personal Journals (2002), Francis daringly set aside the more boastful side of rap by catering to his poetic leanings and scathing socio-political commentary. By 2005, he was the first hip-hop artist signed to Epitaph Records, soon becoming one of the genre’s top-selling artists. Although Sage has now settled into his ‘old man shaking his fist at Soundcloud’ status, he continues to turn knobs & push buttons from his New England family home. This year kept him on his toes, balancing a long-awaited stage comeback with pursuing new projects.