Everyone Deserves Music (CD - 2003)

Additional personnel includes: Robbie Shakespeare (bass); Dave Shul (guitar); Mananas Itene, Sly Dunbar (drums).

Producers: Michael Franti, Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare.

Continuing to defy any clear categorization, Bay Area poet/lyricist Michael Franti and his indie hip-hop outfit Spearhead serve up another collection of politically conscious protest songs on their fourth LP. Blending elements of alt rock, funk, soul, and old-school reggae, EVERYONE DESERVES MUSIC is a well-balanced musical effort whose lyrics take on the darkest of contemporary issues with good-natured optimism. Over the energetic funk guitar licks of "We Don't Stop," Franti matter-of-factly proclaims "They got a war on terror/a war on drugs/a war on continents/a war on hugs," while the soulful ballad "Bomb the World" has him crooning "We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can't bomb it into peace." Featuring production from reggae giants Sly & Robbie, EVERYONE DESERVES MUSIC is hip-hop at its most organic--unafraid to experiment and unabashed in its urgency. minimize