Sage Francis | |
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Francis in 2007.
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Background information | |
Birth name | Paul William Francis |
Born |
Miami, Florida, United States |
November 18, 1976
Origin | Providence, Rhode Island, United States |
Genres | Hip hop |
Occupation(s) | Rapper, spoken word artist |
Years active | 1996–present |
Labels | Strange Famous Records, Anticon, Epitaph Records, ANTI-, Rhymesayers Entertainment |
Associated acts |
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Website | www |
Paul William "Sage" Francis (born November 18, 1976) is an American hip hop recording artist and spoken word poet from Providence, Rhode Island. He is a founder of Strange Famous Records.
Francis began writing and recording original lyrics at age 8, being inspired by acts such as Run DMC and Public Enemy. According to artistdirect.com, Francis began sneaking out of his parents' house at age 12 to participate in rap battles. In 1996, he recorded his first official demo tape, and by 1998 he had a radio show on WRIU called True School Session. He won the Superbowl MC Battle in Boston in 1999, beating Esoteric.
Francis 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 on his website.
Francis won the Scribble Jam emcee battle in 2000, beating Blueprint. 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.
He made a guest appearance on Bad Religion's The Empire Strikes First on the track "Let Them Eat War".