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Sage Francis
Background information
Birth name	Paul Francis
Born	(1976-11-18) November 18, 1976 (age 48) Miami, Florida
Genres	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper, Spoken word artist
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Strange Famous Records, Anticon, Epitaph Records, ANTI-
Website	www.sagefrancis.net

Paul "Sage" Francis (born November 18, 1976) is a hip hop artist from Providence, Rhode Island. He is a founder of Strange Famous Records.

History

Born Paul Francis in Miami, Florida, Sage Francis is a rapper, writer and performer from Providence, Rhode Island. He is a founder and CEO of the independent hip hop record label Strange Famous Records. The label first began as a way for him to release his previously unreleased songs in the late 1990s. It has since evolved into an official enterprise with an expanding roster of like-minded artists. He released several Sick Of mixtapes available only on his tours and website.

Sage Francis won the Scribble Jam emcee battle in 2000. In 2001, the song "Makeshift Patriot," recorded on October 11, 2001, became an Internet hit for its critique of American media during, and immediately following, the September 11 attacks. He released the critically acclaimed first solo album Personal Journals in 2002. He signed to Epitaph Records, making himself the first hip hop artist to sign with the punk rock label. He subsequently released three albums with Epitaph Records; A Healthy Distrust, Human the Death Dance and Li(f)e.

Sage Francis is also part of the contemporary spoken word movement. His relationship with the Providence poetry slam community (he was on their 1998, 1999 and 2002 national poetry slam teams) led to it being called "The House that Sage Francis Built." From 2000 to 2002, he also DJ-ed for the NYC-Urbana poetry slam, a weekly slam series held at the legendary punk rock venue CBGB.

Sage Francis has done extensive live shows as well, whether it was battling during Scribble Jam, as well as doing live shows for the past two decades. He has done shows with Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Eyedea & Abilities among others. Most recently, he has toured with B. Dolan and Buddy Wakefield who are both artists on Strange Famous Records.

Discography

Studio albums

• Personal Journals (2002)
• A Healthy Distrust (2005)
• Human the Death Dance (2007)
• Li(f)e (2010)

Sick of mixtapes

• Sick of Waiting... (1999)
• Still Sick... Urine Trouble (2000)
• Sick of Waiting Tables (2000)
• Sick of Waging War (2001)
• Sickly Business (2004)
• Still Sickly Business (2005)
• Sick of Wasting (2009)

Live albums

• Dead Poet Live Album (2004)
• Road Tested (2003–2005) (2005)

DVDs

• Life Is Easy (2005)

References

1. Braidwood, Stefan (2005)Sage Francis A Healthy Distrust, PopMatters, February 17, 2005, retrieved 2010-11-14
2. Massimo, Rick (2007) "R.I. Rapper Hits the Road", Providence Journal, May 13, 2007
3. http://www.gotpoetry.com/Sections/op=viewarticle/artid=16.html Providence Poetry Slam info on GotPoetry.com
4. Aptowicz, Cristin O'Keefe. (2008). Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam. New York City: Soft Skull Press. Page 100. ISBN 1-933368-82-9.
5. Aptowicz, Cristin O'Keefe. (2008). Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam. New York City: Soft Skull Press. Page 198. ISBN 1-933368-82-9.
6. http://www.strangefamousrecords.com/blogs/sage-francis-blog/the-new-sage-francis-album-and-north-american-tour/

External links and further reading

• Official website
• Strange Famous Records
• Sage Francis on Twitter
• Strange Famous Forum
• KnowMore: The People's Corporation Watch Project
• Interview for Slap Magazine (Dead Link)
• Interview for Scene Missing Magazine
• Sage Francis Interview with Chuck D.
• Interview with Sage Francis 2010
• Interview: Sage Francis | The Find Magazine (2010)

Template:Persondata

• 1976 births
• American vegetarians
• Epitaph Records artists
• Anticon
• Living people
• People from Providence, Rhode Island
• Rappers from Rhode Island
• Slam poets
• Spoken word poets
• Underground rappers