Michael Franti Announces New Album 'Work Hard And Be Nice' & Shares Single
by Nate Todd
Michael Franti. Photo by Michael Finn
Michael Franti recently announced a new album, Work Hard And Be Nice, set for release on June 19 via Thirty Tigers. Franti also shared the single, "I Got You."
"I Got You" follows previously released tracks "I'm On Your Side" and "How We Living." Work Hard And Be Nice is Franti's 11th studio album.
"Before there was a song and an album by the title, I had a discussion with our band and crew that our mantra on tour was going to be 'work hard and be nice to people,'" Franti revealed in a statement. "We then made a t-shirt, and it very quickly became our top-seller! It was so popular that I decided to write a song about the concept Every song on the album is about the power of optimism to get us through our darkest moments and find the light in our loves, lives and for the planet."
Franti also spoke about "I Got You" and filming the music video while on quarantine in Bali with his wife Sara and baby Taj. "This song is about how we support those around us, dream beyond our four walls, and grow deeper in connection to those we love (despite physical distancing), no matter what we face or how hard it seems in the moment," Franti said.
"We were challenged to create a video for a song about having a partner who helps you get through the darkest moments of life and helps you 'love deeper, fly higher, see clearer, burn brighter, than we ever did before,' while being stuck on lockdown," Franti continued. "Because we didn't have the benefit of changing locations to shoot scenes that match lines, we worked over one hundred hours, after we shot the video on an iPhone, to edit the effects painstakingly in frame by frame."
Watch the video for "I Got You" below:
Work Hard And Be Nice Tracklist:
I Got You (Michael Franti & Chris Stevens) Sun and Moon (Michael Franti & Chris Stevens) Good Shit Happens (Michael Franti & Cappy Franti) I Can Still Feel You (Michael Franti & Carl Young) Start Small Think Big (Michael Franti, Chris Stevens, Brett Warren & Brad Warren) How We Living (Michael Franti & Tim Myers) Breaking Down The Door (Michael Franti & Tim Myers) The Friends Song (Michael Franti & Daniel Lubwama Kigozi) Lay It All Down (Michael Franti, Chris Stevens & James Yeary) P.S. I Love You (Michael Franti) Work Hard And Be Nice (Michael Franti & Jonathan Singleton) Is It Worth A Penny To You (Michael Franti & Carl Young) Walking Into The Sun (Michael Franti & Carl Young) All My Friends (Michael Franti & Tim Myers) I'm On Your Side (Michael Franti & Sean McConnell) Daycation (Michael Franti & Nathan Chapman) Watching The World Go By With You (Michael Franti & Carl Young)
