* En anglais uniquement
An outgrowth, both musically and ideologically, of the San Francisco-based avant-garde industrial jazz collective
the Beatnigs,
the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy formed in 1990. Comprised of former
Beatnigs Michael Franti and
Rono Tse, the duo quickly established themselves among rap's foremost proponents of multiculturalism and liberalism; pointedly attacking hip-hop tenets like homophobia, misogyny, and racism,
Franti's narratives addressed issues ranging from "Television: The Drug of the Nation" to "Socio-Genetic Experience" (about his childhood raised by white parents) with clarity and depth.
Opening slots for everyone from
Public Enemy and
Arrested Development to
Nirvana and
U2 attested to the nerve hit by
the Heroes' 1992 debut,
Hypocrisy Is the Greatest Luxury, although some members of the rap community dismissed the duo as an attempt to quell white America's apprehensions over the violent world-view depicted in the grooves of gangsta rap records. Consequently,
the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy never attracted the African-American audiences their music actively sought, and after joining beat legend
William S. Burroughs on his 1993 release
Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales, the duo disbanded; while
Tse later worked with the Bay Area rap unit
Mystik Journeymen,
Franti formed
Spearhead, a more roots-oriented concern. ~ Jason Ankeny