Artist Sage Francis

Sage Francis’ rhymes possess a sharp political bite, spurred on by his involvement in the spoken-word movement and colored by a voracious appetite for poetry. The Rhode Island rapper helped the Providence Poetry Slam community garner attention in the ’00s, so it’s no wonder he sounds so unshakably confident with a microphone, both in his freestyles and on record. The 2010 albumLI(F)E doesn’t lack for fierce rants against the rich and powerful, but—as telegraphed by its 2007 predecessor, Human The Death Dance—it also finds more personal material seeping into his repertoire, given extra oomph with rock-music backing. Francis often unflinchingly turns his wit inward, owning up to high-school dramas and other indefensible wrongdoings with naked vulnerability.

Updated 02/08/2012