The Wake

The letters FCC got an entirely different meaning on March 10th, as the Fuck Clear Channel Tour came to Minneapolis. Headlining the tour was rapper Sage Francis.

Mac Lethal and Grand Buffet opened for Francis. Mac Lethal, out first, rapped about issues concerning ex-girlfriends and child abuse. His style was similar to that of Francis. Even his delivery seemed to be in the same vein as the headliner. Grand Buffet followed Mac Lethal. They entertained along with “DJ CD Player,” as they called their Walkman, which spewed out the wacky beats that appeared to be their trademark.

Francis took the stage donned in black, thick-rimmed glasses and a tuxedo that looked to be two sizes too small. He grabbed the microphone, obviously uncomfortable, and started his set. One thing was missing from the show, however: DJ. Francis explained toward the end of the show the band that had been touring with them had abruptly quit just days before the end of the tour. So, Francis, too, relied on Grand Buffet’s Walkman to provide the beats.

As he played through his first song “Any Port,” Francis stripped off his cummerbund and jacket to reveal an Epitaph Records T-shirt that simply said “Sellout.” Joe Beats, the producer of the Non-Prophets, joined Francis on stage. The two traded rhymes as the crowd grew to a fever pitch.

As the duo moved through their set, Francis kept the glasses on, embracing the label “nerd rap.” This is a moniker Francis has been grappling with since he has stepped to the forefront of underground white hip-hop, sharing it with other artists such as Aesop Rock and Slug.

As a break in the music, Francis brought out spoken word poet (and member of opening group Grand Buffet) Jared Paul. He stood in front of the nearly sold out crowd and performed a moving poem using the alphabet to explain his version of the American aesthetic. “Z is not for Zion, but for Zenith.”

This exhibition further bridged the gap between hip-hop, poetry and punk rock. When Francis became the first rapper signed to punk label Epitaph, the line between hip-hop and punk were forever blurred. Who better to bridge the gap than Francis? His rhymes are almost exclusively political, and he has garnered an enormous amount of respect in the underground.

At the end of the show, Francis performed “Makeshift Patriot.” This is Francis’ September 11th song. He rapped covered in an American flag. On the flag in place of the stars were the logos of 50 American corporations.

When the dust settled, Francis and company did what they had set out to do. Fuck Clear Channel. No money went to the conglomerate during the production of the tour, which, according to Francis, is becoming more and more difficult to do. “They are taking over the world.”