Sage Francis

For a quick summation of Sage Francis's career to date, spin the first two cuts from his latest Epitaph, Human the Death Dance. Opener "Growing Pains" is a collage of home recordings, beginning when Francis was eight, while "Underground for Dummies" outlines in chalk his rise to the top of independent hip-hop through allusions to his Art Official Intelligence agency, the Know More organization, "Sick of" series and Personal Journals. Over beats composed by Sixtoo, Odd Nosdam and Mark Isham, among others, the vegetarian MC addresses everything from "Civil Disobedience" to post-Katrina politics to craft his strongest and most diverse release to date.