After the release of Sage Francis’s Personal Journals, a lot of “true heads” weren’t ready for the emotional onslaught that he delivered with that LP. While this LP was excellent, taking it’s time to grow on listeners (this critic wishing he could revoke that 3.5 and bump it up a notch), it was indeed all over the place, and a little bit too personal – especially for someone who hasn’t been exposed to Sage’s lyrical skill on the Sick Of… discs, at Scribble Jam, or any other live venues.  Enter Non-Prophets (Sage Francis & Joe Beats)’ Hope. As suggested on the opening track, “Any Port”, this is Sage’s answer to all the know-it-all hip-hop critics and fans who dissed and dismissed him earlier – one listen to this and you’ll be quickly convinced that Sage is currently one of the nicest indy emcees on the mic, hands down.

     Non-Prophets is made up of Sage Francis, along with producer Joe Beats, and DJ Mek-A-Lek. What the crew set out to do with Hope, was create a true, bare-bones hip-hop album, one that reflected the sound of Rhode Island. And they did, with great success. Despite their worshipping followers, as the cover suggests (Christ hanging from the anchor of the Rhode Island crest) and their name implies, Sage and the crew do not crown themselves as hip-hop deities, but rather those who would challenge god-complex carrying emcees of the mainstream. And they do it with a whole lot of style. Joe’s beats pack the elements of the early classics, with hard funk drums, rolling basslines, and the soulful samples that give these tracks some feeling, while Sage plays the ultimate rhyming hip-hop fan, referencing classic and long-forgotten hip-hop records of the 80′s and 90′s.   

       But rather than simply quoting the usual Biggie verse that everyone can sing or dance along to, Sage pulls out the really obscure gems that will make longtime listeners laugh out loud, and young fans of emo-rap scratch their heads. Case in point is the reference-rich “Fresh”, where Sage confesses that he’ll never be happy with his career until he records with Rick Rubin and Sam Sever, and like Nine (yes, of Funkmaster Flex fame), sees his “name up in lights, S.A.G.E.”. But his quoting and inventive retooling of rhymes, doesn’t stop on this hip-hop theme song, it pretty much continues throughout the entire album. Even when ranting about how much he can’t stand children (“Disasters”), he managers to fit in “Un-Original Flavor’s dumb ish / like Jay-Z trying to impress Chip Fu with a tongue twist / I diggety done this / I diggety done that / I kept this style in my arsenal / in case it made a come back”. If you don’t get it, forget it. 

     Among the more poignant moments on the LP, “Mainstream 307″ is an excellent throwback to the late 90′s dismay with commercial rap, propelled by its Mobb Deep sample. Sage laments: “I’m ignored while I counter points, Bill O’riley tries to score / wipe the floor with your psyche some more/ and fight the war with Michael Moore in a Nike store / battling the general consensus of shit / as petty as it is, Das Efx rocked that band-aid ten years before Nelly did!”. This type of anti-establishment, pro-hip-hop lyricism will have longtime heads singing right along after a few listens. Meanwhile, he further challenges your expectations with “New Word Order”, a unique, stream-of-consciousness word play game ripe with references we can all relate to. 

     Amongst all the fun that Sage has on this album, other elements of his personality sneak out from time to time, to keep this album well rounded. On one hand, you have the off-the-wall, evil alter-ego who shows up for “Xaul Zan’s Heart” – a fun-filled, whore-monger sing-a-long that revels itself in being an asshole anthem; yet on the other hand, the true Sage Francis searches for “The Cure” to his loneliness, orchestrated beautifully by Joe’s slow beats and fitting horn section. 

      While the last five years or so have brought an abundance of new crews to the scene – Anticon, Rhyme Sayers, Def Jux, Demigodz, Weathermen - many have been quick to pass judgement on this new generation of emcees, simply because the younger set likes them, or they simply haven’t heard the right songs from the artists, only hearing a few tracks here and there at random. In Sage’s case, if you dismissed the debut, Personal Journals, simply as some “nerdy white rap”, give him a second chance and peep Non-Prophets’ Hope. This is hip-hop in the truest sense of the word; and also, it’s good.