Michael Franti

He has always been a peace activist. He is also a dedicated advocate of peace in the Middle East for which, he made the documentary film. ‘I Know I'm Not Alone’, featuring the people affected by the war in the Middle East. He captured footage from war zones for the film.

He tied the nuptial knot with Tara Franti-Rye. He has two children, Ade and Cappy.

He is in a relationship with Sara Agah, an emergency room nurse and jewellery designer.

Michael Franti was born on April 21, 1966 in Oakland, California, U.S, to an Irish-German-French ancestry mother and African-American father. His mother, fearing rejection from her family, set him up for adoption as soon as he was born.

He was adopted by Carole Wisti and Charles Franti, who already had three biological children and two adopted sons.

He studied in Edmonton, Alberta, until grade 9 and later moved to the Davis Senior High School. He graduated from the University of San Francisco, California.

While in school, he learnt the art of story writing from a priest whom he had met. Thereafter, he began writing poetry. He used a bass to create music inspired by hip hop, punk, and reggae, which was played on the campus radio.

In 1986, he set his foot into the world of music, beginning his musical career with the San Francisco based industrial punk/spoken word band, ‘The Beatnigs'.

In 1988, ‘The Beatnigs' released, ‘Television: The Drug of the Nation' under the Alternative Tentacles label. The band also came out with a self-titled album.

In 1990, along with his ‘The Beatnigs' band mate, RonoTse, he co-founded the American industrial hip-hop band, 'The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy'.

On March 3, 1992, 'The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy' came out with their debut album, ‘Hypocrisy Is the Greatest Luxury'. The album became critically acclaimed.

In 1994, he found a new band named ‘Spearhead' along with some studio musicians, which included, Carl Young. He soon announced the dissolution of the band, 'The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy'.

The ‘Spearhead' album ‘Yell Fire!' peaked at the number one position on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart. The album also reached the sixth position on the Billboard Top Independent Albums chart.