Human the Death Dance (CD - 2007)

The Rhode Island rapper and poet Sage Francis twists and expands the hip-hop format to outstanding artistic effect on his fourth release, which spans his frequently insightful and sometimes particularly moving political, social, and personal concerns. "Civil Obedience" is a plea to step back and take a breath in the face of everyday adversity, while "Broccilude" manages to combine a fine sense of the absurd with a skewering of media inanities. "Black Out on White Night" documents a devastating break-up, the self-explanatory "Going Back to Rehab" is a gruesomely realistic depiction of drug withdrawal, and "Got Up This Morning" is a hilarious tale of attempted seduction set to a Mississippi juke-joint loop. minimize