One of the rare artists to use the powerful medium of music to explore social and political issues, Michael Franti has proved to be a musician with a moral conscience. This gifted spoken word artist, composer, poet and political activist began his musical career with the industrial punk/spoken word band, ‘The Beatnigs'. He later formed the American industrial hip-hop band, ‘The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy', a fiery group whose music explored political themes. Seeking further improvement and innovation, Franti founded the band ‘Spearhead'. He pushed boundaries with his music and became the pivotal force in hip-hop's renaissance, drawing from soul-driven beats and funk rhythms. With ‘Spearhead' he also explored new ideas and set on to a more provocative tone and style. Their debut album ‘Home’ received critical acclaim from music critics. Widely regarded as a master of contemporary protest music, Franti is an innovative songwriter, whose skilful songwriting abilities successfully blend flock, hip hop, punk, rock, and jazz. He also directed the documentary film, ‘I Know I'm Not Alone’, for which he captured raw footage from war zones in the Middle East.