“Right now is a dangerous time; a lot of things are burning. This is the time to ring the alarm, to say to people, 'Hello, let’s wake up.' That’s why I called the record Yell Fire!”
Looming over Hot Press, more than six and a half feet tall, Michael Franti is as much a physical as moral giant of a man.
Intelligent, fearless and outspoken, from his first incarnation, the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, to his latest outfit, Spearhead, Franti has always been a crusader, a champion of the oppressed and weak. Informed by his experiences travelling throughout Iraq, Afghanistan and Israel to record the film I Know I‘m Not Alone, the personal testimony of Yell Fire! proves he has never been more musically or morally relevant.
A musician with a message, Michael Franti is one of a dwindling breed. Nonetheless he can understand why his contemporaries are wary of engaging on a political level.
“Definitely they could be doing more, but, I would also say this, I don’t think it is the responsibility of the artist to do anything, except make great art,” he reasons. “At the moment there is so much pressure within the industry just to sell records, so artists are wary of doing anything that might jeopardise their meal ticket.”
Music and politics are uncomfortable bedfellows, unlikely to breed commercial success, I suggest.
“I think a lot of artists would view it as such,” he agrees, “I think if you do it half-heartedly then it can be. But, there are positive examples, if you look at the biggest rock band in the world, U2, they are politically outspoken. Then there is the most internationally known artist, Bob Marley, and then the greatest songwriter, Bob Dylan. So there are examples of musicians being politically engaged and being successful. Ultimately though it takes one thing and that’s integrity. Unfortunately that’s a quality in short supply in the music industry.”
Franti’s old group, Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, provided support to U2 back in the Zoo TV days and he is full of admiration for the humanitarian endeavours of his former touring partner, Bono.
“He’s doing great things. What Bono’s done is practical, working in a quantitative sense, to say, ‘We’re gonna try and reduce debt by a certain amount.’ When Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy were on tour with U2, I was approached by a journalist who asked if I really thought that U2 were still a socially aware and political band, my answer was simple: ‘Every night for the last 50 nights I’ve seen 50,000 people come to a stadium and go home smiling. Now if you can tell me a politician that can do that, well I’ll vote for ‘em.' But, you can work in other ways too. For me, music works in a spiritual way. It is not something purely quantifiable. It is about the way that music can affect someone’s life. The way that it can influence hearts and minds, how it can change generations.”
To influence hearts and minds was also the objective of the Allied “army of liberation” in Afghanistan and Iraq. Having travelled to Iraq to film I Know I’m Not Alone, Franti can testify exactly how successful the Allied war for hearts and minds is proving,
“Well, it’s simple, we’re not winning hearts and minds,” he says. “The longer the occupation goes on, for every Iraqi that’s killed, every hour there’s no electricity, every person that doesn’t have a job, well, each of those represents a backwards step into animosity. We need to wake up to the fact that this is a war about petroleum security, that the American nation and most of the world has become so dependent on oil that for the next 50 to 100 years we are going to be forced into these petroleum wars.”
An American with dreadlocks and a guitar, Franti was something of a novelty in Iraq,
“Well the first thing is that they had never seen dreadlocks before, so they all wanted to touch my hair,” he laughs. “The second thing was that they didn’t realise I was from America until I actually told them so. I would be there with an acoustic guitar in my hand, the first American they had seen without an M16.”
As anyone who witnessed his Electric Picnic performance can confirm, the fire of indignation continues to burn bright in Michael Franti,
“What George Bush is doing to the world, man,” he shakes his head ruefully, “There’s this triangle consisting of corporate interests, governments and militaries which is responsible for the way the world is being changed, manipulated, resources exploited, the climate and environment destroyed. And they all work in collusion to keep generating profit. That is what frustrates me, it seems so untouchable. I guess we just try to reach that point in the critical mass of the culture where people don’t put up with it anymore. No matter what, I’m determined to do my part.”b

Yell Fire! is out now on Anti.