Introduction by Nicholas Reville
Sage Francis is a rapper out of Providence, RI and half of Non-Prophets (the other half is DJ Joe Beats). Sage made a reputation for himself by consistently winning poetry slams and freestyling competitions, and has built something of a cult following. His style is always personal and often highly political, but refreshingly free of preachiness. With his new Fuck Clear Channel Tour, Sage is pushing music industry politics to the forefront.
Now when someone announces a "Fuck Clear Channel Tour", you know Downhill Battle is going to have to do an interview. Clear Channel is notorious for what they've done to radio-- consolidation and homogenization are the operative words here. They've been investigated for anti-trust violations while continuing to gobble up as many stations as they can legally own. It's gotten to the point that people in the record industry say you can't make a hit without convincing Clear Channel to add a song to their playlist-- just one more way that the corporate music machine narrows and limits access to creative music.
The slightly lesser known side of Clear Channel nastiness is their attempt to monopolize local music venues in dozens of cities. They've been driving local clubs out of business with overwhelming corporate dollars and no shortage of dirty tricks. Needless to say, the Fuck Clear Channel Tour will not be playing any Clear Channel clubs.
Source: http://www.downhillbattle.org/interviews/sage_francis.html
