Recording in Jamaica is like nothing else. The studios are always closed in America. But in Jamaica, the studio doors are wide open, and there’s music blasting out in the street. You can see the reaction of people immediately. – Michael Franti
If we do not change our negative habits toward climate change, we can count on worldwide disruptions in food production, resulting in mass migration, refugee crises and increased conflict over scarce natural resources like water and farm land. This is a recipe for major security problems. – Michael Franti
The way the music comes to you starts to affect how you listen to music. When you’re a kid, it’s ‘Does it rock? Does it make me feel good? Does it make me tap my feet? Does it make me go to sleep?’ – Michael Franti
You learn a lot when you’re barefoot. The first thing is every step you take is different. – Michael Franti
I went to the University of San Francisco on an athletic scholarship. I didn’t study in high school. I was just there to get by and to play basketball. But a funny thing happened to me when I got to college. I got challenged by the work and the professors. – Michael Franti
I don’t know if music can change the world overnight but I know that music can help someone make it through a difficult night. – Michael Franti
People underestimate the hip-hop audience and the capacity to understand politics when it’s part of music. – Michael Franti
There are so many things to be worried about, and I wanted to make a record that people could put on, and it would lift them up the way the sun did for me each day. – Michael Franti
In Jamaica, the music is recorded for the sound system, not the iPod. It’s about experiencing music together, with other people. – Michael Franti
After a show, I’ll get the 16-year-old white kid whose lip is pierced, his head is shaved and his parents hate him, and the young gangster from the screwed-up ‘hood, and they say that now they realize there’s someone out there who thinks like they do. – Michael Franti
I hope I inspire people to dream bigger than what they are living, but a dream within their reach. – Michael Franti
My favorite band of all time is The Clash. The thing I love about The Clash is they started out as guys who could barely play three chords. They dabbled in reggae, punk, rap, jazz. They came to a sound that could only be defined as The Clash. It was impossible to say what it was. I admire them for that. – Michael Franti
