Noted for his intense flow and sharp wit, Francis has won acclaim both as a freestyle battler and as an unapologetic, intellectual lyricist. Francis uses a broad emotional palette to address a wide range of personal, cultural, and political issues. His unconventional style and persona have given him crossover appeal, but at the same time alienated some hip-hop listeners.
Prior to embarking on a full-time career as an MC, Francis displayed his skills in slam poetry. During the late 1990s, he recorded his first demo tape (1996), fronted the now defunct Providence hip-hop band Art Official Intelligence, and hosted a weekly slot on independent radio station WRIU (the "True School Session"). He also formed the Non-Prophets and released a 12” (Drop Bass/Bounce/I Keep Calling, Emerge Records, 1999), following up in 2003 with their first full-length offering, Hope. Francis is a contemporary of underground hip-hop artists such as Slug, Eyedea, Sole and the anticon. collective. He is also loosely affiliated with the vague underground hip-hop super-group The Orphanage.
As a solo performer, Francis won the MC battle at the 2000 Scribble Jam, and in 2001 he came close to repeating as champion (semi-finalist) while performing as his "metal" alter ego, "Xaul Zan". Francis released his first proper solo album, Personal Journals, on Anticon. in 2002. He toured with a live band on the Live Band Dead Poet Tour to support it. Francis subsequently became the first hip-hop artist to sign with Punk label Epitaph, agreeing to a three-album deal. His first album for Epitaph, A Healthy Distrust, was released in early 2005 and was followed up with Human the Death Dance in 2007.
One of Francis' best-known tracks is "Makeshift Patriot", a commentary on the American media recorded one month after the September 11, 2001 attacks which he released on the internet as an MP3 as well as a limited edition 7" single.
In February 2005 Sage dropped his second full length album on the originally punk label Epitaph, it was widely regarded as the best underground hip hop album of the year by critics and fans alike and featured heavily political tracks such as "The Buzz Kill" and "Slow Down Gandhi" and more personal material like that more similar to that of his debut 'Personal Journals' such as 'Bridle' and a few heavily satirical comments on the modern day rap and urban scene such as the satirical comment on youth gun culture 'Gunz Yo'.
Sage has helped to set up the Wiki KnowMore.org which is described as a 'way to keep tabs on the some of the biggest and most dangerous businesses in the world'. He is a vegetarian and also chooses to abstain from drugs and drinking, though doesn't label himself as "straight-edge" because he believes "you shouldn't define yourself by what you don't do."
Sage has set up his own label and signed some of who he claims to be his favorite artists of the moment such as Buck 65 and Proplyphic and Reanimator named Strange Famous (which shares his initials) with which he released his most recent work 'Human the Death Dance'
This album was released in May 2007 and takes a step away from the heavily political 'Healthy Distrust' and heads back to the more personal lyrics of 'Personal Journals' and comments on modern culture. The album features cameos from many Strange Famous artists such as Buddy Wakefield, Buck 65 and Reanimator.
In 2010 Sage released his fourth full length album Li(f)e (the title coming from the famous quote from 'The Cure' on the Non-Prophets album Hope "Life is just a lie with an f in it and death is definite"). The album was extremely well received and one particular single off of the album 'The Best Of Times' received extensive air play on the popular British radio station Radio 1. After Sages Li(f)e tour Sage has stated that he will no longer be doing tours but will still be releasing albums and other materials, instead he will be doing select gigs throughout each year.
On 3 June 2014, Sage released his fifth studio album 'Copper Gone'. It is the first official studio album after Sage Francis announced his hiatus, which lasted for four years.
Sun Vs Moon
Sage Francis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Th-th-the devil,
(repeat x4 then continues until "settle their differences")
The devil only exists because of your belief in him,
Same goes for that other guy,
I believe the sun is simply reflecting the shine from the moon (word?)
Stealing its spotlight, they'll have a cockfight at noon,
At midnight, rematch,
To stir up their similarities on turntables,
That chicken scratch proved to be unreadable,
The determining factor in who gets the pitch to control the tides,
No one decides a victor unless they give a fair listen to both the sides,
We're low-lives,
We go blind jerking off to the eclipse,
The sun was pulling cheap shots doing commercial body tricks,
Behind the back,
Under the leg,
I think he even did a headspin,
On a crossfader that sounded whack,
But looked excellent,
All of the sudden it gets dim,
The crater face steps in,
Puts mexican drumbreaks on the Technics,
He's like "Let's begin",
He conducted an orchestra so dope the sun started sweatin' him,
I guess he'd expected to win on pure artistic merit,
Composing complex plays with nothin but soundbytes,
Burned out the lights,
Made MCs too self conscious quit the master mics,
For a thousand nights,
It continued without a single slip up,
Except once the record skipped,
But it kinda sounded cool,
And fit within the rhythm he was juggling,
Poly-rhythms out of country western albums spinning,
It is plain that he had come to win,
But as always due to corrupt judging,
They drew a tie - Now it's do or die.
The sun was like,
No no no,
But the moon was like,
Go go go,
(repeat x3)
And when the sun was chosen,
I came to the conclusion,
This guy doesn't know what he's doin'.
God's not a woman,
He's a big white guy in the sky,
And the deserts are reflections of his eyes,
He doesn't cry for us,
But when he does,
It's cause he's drunk,
(Say What?),
God's not a woman,
He's a big white guy in the sky,
And the deserts are reflections of his eyes,
He doesn't cry for us,
But when he does,
It's cause he's drunk,
And he's always fucked up,
Bottoms up,
God's not a woman,
He's a bitch.
(Backmasked:
Praise Jesus,
Do everything your mother tells you,
Love thy Neighbor,
Do not murder everyone,
Shit, Pussy)
Th-the devil,
Th-th-the devil,
(repeat x4)
This is one hand clapping alone,
This is the smallest violin, (violin)
Run rabbit when they fight to kill your baddest poem,
The devil is the fucking white man,
This is one hand clapping alone,
This is the smallest violin, (violin)
Run rabbit when they fight to kill your baddest poem,
The white man (the white man).
(Th-th-the devil)..
The lyrics to Sage Francis's "Sun Vs Moon" begin with the repetition of "the devil" four times, emphasizing the theme of duality throughout the song. Sage then asserts that the devil only exists because people believe in him, just as the other guy (presumably God) does. He then goes on to metaphorically describe the relationship between the sun and the moon as a cockfight, with the two heavenly bodies battling for control over the tides. Sage suggests that the determining factor in this battle is those who take the time to listen to both sides, rather than blindly picking a winner. He acknowledges that "we're low-lives," and that we're too preoccupied with getting off on celestial phenomena like eclipses to pay attention to the greater forces at work.
The second half of the song focuses on the idea that God is not a woman, as some might believe, but rather a big white man in the sky. Sage presents a humorous, irreverent interpretation of God as a drunken, irresponsible ruler who causes mayhem and drinks to excess. The repeated "th-the-devil" at the end of the song suggests that this cycle of chaos and duality is endless.
Overall, "Sun Vs Moon" is a complex, metaphorical meditation on the nature of good and evil and the struggle for power. Sage Francis challenges listeners to consider the role they play in perpetuating these cycles, and to question the assumptions they might have about spirituality and the universe.
Line by Line Meaning
Th-the devil,
The devil is being referenced
Th-th-the devil,
The devil is being referenced again
(repeat x4 then continues until 'settle their differences')
The repetition of 'the devil' sets the tone for the song, but does not provide any further meaning
The devil only exists because of your belief in him,
The devil's existence is only a result of people's belief in him
Same goes for that other guy,
The same principle applies to the opposing force
I believe the sun is simply reflecting the shine from the moon (word?),
The sun is not the source of its own light, but instead is reflecting the light of the moon
Stealing its spotlight, they'll have a cockfight at noon,
The sun and moon will fight for dominance at noon
To settle their differences,
The fight will settle the disagreement between the two celestial bodies
At midnight, rematch,
There will be a rematch at midnight
To stir up their similarities on turntables,
The similarities between the sun and moon will be highlighted on turntables
That chicken scratch proved to be unreadable,
The scratching of the turntables was difficult to interpret
The determining factor in who gets the pitch to control the tides,
The winner of the cockfight will control the tides
No one decides a victor unless they give a fair listen to both the sides,
A fair judgment cannot be made without considering both sides equally
We're low-lives,
The people observing this fight are low-lives (insignificant)
We go blind jerking off to the eclipse,
People become obsessed with the spectacle of an eclipse, losing sight of reality
The sun was pulling cheap shots doing commercial body tricks,
The sun was using dirty tactics to try to win the fight
Behind the back,
One of the dirty tactics used by the sun
Under the leg,
Another dirty tactic used by the sun
I think he even did a headspin,
The sun also used a headspin as a dirty trick
On a crossfader that sounded whack,
The sun used a crossfader that sounded bad
But looked excellent,
Despite the bad sound, the sun's moves looked impressive
All of the sudden it gets dim,
Suddenly, everything became less bright
The crater face steps in,
The moon, with its crater face, takes over
Puts mexican drumbreaks on the Technics,
The moon uses Mexican drumbeats in the turntables
He's like 'Let's begin',
The moon is ready to start the fight
He conducted an orchestra so dope the sun started sweatin' him,
The moon performed amazingly, causing the sun to feel nervous
I guess he'd expected to win on pure artistic merit,
The moon was confident in its own artistic abilities
Composing complex plays with nothin but soundbytes,
The moon's plays were impressive despite being made only from soundbytes
Burned out the lights,
The moon's performance was so good it outshone the sun
Made MCs too self conscious quit the master mics,
The moon's performance caused other artists to become self-conscious and quit
For a thousand nights,
This rivalry between the sun and moon went on for a long time
It continued without a single slip up,
The rivalry was intense and neither side made a mistake
Except once the record skipped,
There was one mistake made when a record skipped
But it kinda sounded cool,
Despite the mistake, it actually sounded pretty cool
And fit within the rhythm he was juggling,
The mistake still fit perfectly within the rhythm of the performance
Poly-rhythms out of country western albums spinning,
The moon was creating complex rhythms from country western albums
It is plain that he had come to win,
The moon was clearly there to win
But as always due to corrupt judging,
The judgment process was corrupt, as it usually is
They drew a tie - Now it's do or die.
There was no clear winner, so there needed to be another fight to decide
The sun was like,
The sun felt nervous
No no no,
The sun did not want to fight again
But the moon was like,
The moon was excited to fight again
Go go go,
The moon was urging the sun to fight
And when the sun was chosen,
The sun was chosen to fight once again
I came to the conclusion,
The artist came to a realization
This guy doesn't know what he's doin'.
The sun was not skilled or knowledgeable enough to win the fight
God's not a woman,
The idea that God is female is incorrect
He's a big white guy in the sky,
God is instead a big, white male figure in the sky
And the deserts are reflections of his eyes,
The deserts can be seen as a reflection of God's eyes
He doesn't cry for us,
God does not have empathy for us
But when he does,
But if he did cry
It's cause he's drunk,
It would be because he was drunk
(Say What?),
Interjection to express confusion or disbelief
God's not a woman,
Reiteration that God is not female
He's a big white guy in the sky,
Reiteration that God is a white male figure in the sky
And the deserts are reflections of his eyes,
Reiteration that the deserts are reflective of God's eyes
He doesn't cry for us,
Reiteration that God is not empathetic towards humanity
But when he does,
Reiteration that if God did cry
It's cause he's drunk,
Reiteration that God would cry if he were drunk
And he's always fucked up,
Implying that God is always intoxicated
Bottoms up,
Calling for a toast or a drink
God's not a woman,
Final reiteration that God is not female
He's a bitch.
Declaring God as weak
(Backmasked:
This line is not part of the song lyrics
Praise Jesus,
A positive sentiment towards Jesus
Do everything your mother tells you,
Encouragement to follow one's mother's instructions
Love thy Neighbor,
Emphasizing the importance of loving one's neighbor
Do not murder everyone,
An admonishment to not commit murder
Shit, Pussy)
Incomprehensible and likely not part of the true meaning of the song
Th-th-the devil,
Reiteration of the devil
Th-th-the devil,
Reiteration of the devil
(repeat x4)
Repetition of the devil to finish the song
This is one hand clapping alone,
A reference to the Buddhist thought of one hand clapping being a sound that happens when a person is alone
This is the smallest violin, (violin)
The phrase 'smallest violin' is typically used to mock someone's complaints or struggles
Run rabbit when they fight to kill your baddest poem,
Suggesting to run away when others try to attack one's best work or creativity
The devil is the fucking white man,
The devil is stereotypically seen as a white man
This is one hand clapping alone,
Reiteration of the Buddhist thought
This is the smallest violin, (violin)
Reiteration of the mocking phrase
Run rabbit when they fight to kill your baddest poem,
Reiteration of the advice to flee from those attacking one's best work
The white man (the white man).
Reiteration of the idea of the devil as a white man
(Th-th-the devil)
Final repetition of 'the devil'
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Cheche Garcia
on Buckets Of Silence
I never held a funeral for that big part of me that died.
I need to put these thoughts to rest. i need to find a peace of mind.
I need to piece my mind, find a piece of mind to rest in.
need to find someone to confide in, and with the rest i need to start restin'.
needless to say, i couldn't hide.
fifteen grown men shouldn't cry.
Cheche Garcia
on Message Sent
I've got some letters inside of my drawer
that should have been stamped and delivered
One is addressed to my ex
it says I'm the type of kid who can't be lived with
One is addressed to my friends
it says I'm a mess so y'all can't visit
One is addressed to myself
but I don't know what personality or hand to give it