Since his days as a member of the Beatnigs while in his early twenties, Michael Franti grew from an angry young hip-hopper with a political, socially conscious bent (the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Spearhead) to a man who channeled his seriousness, social unease, and desire for change and merged them with his love for music, particularly old-school R&B, soul, and hip-hop. What he left behind in brash, make-some-noise aesthetic, he gained in compassion. And through his use of his own raw power -- charisma, sex appeal, sense of social injustice -- he carried out in his music a community-generated passion in much the same way as Gil Scott-Heron or Marvin Gaye.

Franti was adopted at birth by white parents in the predominantly black community of Oakland, CA. That set of contradictory circumstances instilled in him a hyper-awareness of his own cultural identity as did the sobering fact that his more thoughtful, less provocative style of expression was not accepted by the African-American audience that had embraced a harsher, more combative faction of the hip hop movement. In 1986, Franti formed the drum'n'bass/industrial duo the Beatnigs with turntablist Rono Tse, disbanding after one album. He then formed the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, whose combination of jazz-influenced heavy rap set out to challenge the materialism and misogyny of what had become mainstream rap.

His next project, Spearhead produced the critically acclaimed Home in 1990. The album contained his biggest single, "Hole in the Bucket," a thoughtful lament on the plight of the homeless, and "Positive," which addressed the growing AIDS epidemic. The album boasted adept funk samplings, sinuous guitar vamps, and soulful, melodic tracks about family and social injustice. 1997's Chocolate Supa Highway was not as pop-friendly as Home, but neither did its themes of kidnappings and police brutality lend themselves to such overt accessibility. Its mixture of harsher musical styles -- techno, rock, and funk -- was a step forward for Franti as his world view broadened and deepened. In 2001, Franti released Stay Human. In it he expresses his anger at the system, his advocacy of love, and his belief in freedom through individuality and self-expression through a set of songs that revolve around a fictitious death penalty case. In it, his embrace of the genres that inspired him is achieved with eloquence.

Franti has manifested Power to the Peaceful, a world wide festival dedicated to Peace. Check it out: http://www.powertothepeaceful.org/

Born in Jakarta, 20 January 1971, Oppie started her career as a professional singer in 1993. Her first album, released in 1994, has sold more than 400,000 copies. Not just a singer, Oppie also writes most of her songs, that mainly speak about life, social criticism, street kids, corruption, and inequality of gender.
Because of her songs, Oppie is often invited to discuss or speak about the issues that relate to street kids, domestic violence, drugs abuse, AIDS, and Indonesian Workers.

1n 1996, Oppie and her band were chosen to open for her idol, Alanis Morisette. Oppie and her group have also been invited to perform internationally in places such as Perth, Australia (1996), MTV Live n' Loud in Singapore, and also for cultural events in Vietnam, Germany, and Srilanka.

A new mother, Oppie has also been involved in Save the Choral Campaign, and other environmental Campaigns. In 2001, Oppie performed in front of 4000 women labourers in Hongkong. Until now, she has released five albums, and is in the process of making her sixth album. Oppie has also acted in a big screen movie, sitcom tv shows, and has been a presenter for some Indonesian music programs.