Not all artists have a responsibility to be socially or politically aware, but they do have a responsibility to make great art. They have to find some truth and put that in their music. – Michael Franti
When I first started out, I thought it was enough to make an angry song that pointed out the problems of the world. – Michael Franti
It doesn’t matter if you’re black, white, gay, straight, come from different countries, different language… every single person is significant and is meaningful. – Michael Franti
I’ve always found that the poorer the places that I go, the more smiles I see, and the more happiness I see. – Michael Franti
The corporate media is there to push the agenda of the sponsors, and many of those sponsors are weapons manufacturers. So it stands to reason that you won’t get a diversity of opinions on television. – Michael Franti
I’m a news junkie who’s constantly reading newspapers and magazines. I look around and see what’s happening in the world. – Michael Franti
I really believe that, as an artist, my opportunity to help to bring about awakening is one that should come from a personal process that someone has, and not from me telling somebody that this is the way it is. – Michael Franti
‘Star Wars’ is mythology. It’s like Greek mythology or Shakespeare. It’s the story of good versus evil over a very long span of time. The storytelling is universal and timeless. – Michael Franti
When you’re in Jamaica, unless you’re in a tourist spot, you don’t hear Bob Marley; you mostly hear dance hall music. – Michael Franti
Music is sunshine. Like sunshine, music is a powerful force that can instantly and almost chemically change your entire mood. – Michael Franti
My music is part of the quest I have to find new ways of telling stories, and also, I want to inspire people. – Michael Franti
Jamaica’s a country of great dichotomy. On the one hand you have a tourist industry with great beaches and resorts, but on the other you have such great poverty and the violence that goes along with that. – Michael Franti
Through music I either tame my demons or unleash them and allow them to be what they are. I don’t want the music to be about provocation, I want the music to bring you to a place where you feel at home. – Michael Franti
The world can’t have a global solution to climate change with U.S. action alone; and the world can’t have a global solution without U.S. action. – Michael Franti
I always identified with that feeling of being an underdog. So I always was looking to connect with and meet people from other cultures, to experience people living a different life that I am. – Michael Franti
You get everything you could have ever wished for if you’re willing to give that eternal bliss away to somebody else, to give it back. – Michael Franti
Music was a central part of my childhood because my mother played organ and piano in the church, and that meant all us kids had to be in the church choir. – Michael Franti
The rap community has been singled out as more homophobic than other groups, but I don’t think that’s right. It’s homophobic, all right, but no more so than the heavy-metal community or the Hollywood community or any other community. – Michael Franti
My usual day is I get up around 11 o’clock and do yoga and then eat afterwards. Then I have sound check and play soccer and do running with the guys in the band after sound check, and then do the show and eat dinner after the show and usually get to bed around 3 o’clock by the time we get everybody on the bus and get rolling. – Michael Franti
My mother birthed three children and she adopted myself and another African-American son. My adoptive parents were Finnish. I grew up in a white picket neighborhood. – Michael Franti
I’m not an idealist. I know we’re not going to be living in a world that’s peace and love all the time. But we can live in a world where we kill each other a lot less. – Michael Franti
All my songs are different, but from the overall experience, I want people to sense that they can overcome and move through difficult times and find strength in my music. Maybe it’s a song that makes them cry and move through something else. – Michael Franti
People worry that gas prices are high and how they are affecting their pocket book. But they want to know about renewable energy. People are really starting to question things, and that’s made people look to the future in a positive way. – Michael Franti