Pitchfork: Sage Francis Shreds Vocal Cords

Sage Francis Shreds Vocal Cords
Claims that he does "damage" now taken literally

Underground hip-hop icon Sage Francis, the only MC ever to rap, "I go to Fugazi shows requesting Minor Threat songs," had a serious scare this month. According to recent post on the official webboard of Non Prophets, his collaborative project with DJ Joe Beats, Francis reported that he'd recently been plagued by throat problems, and upon finally seeing a doctor, was told that his vocal cords were severely damaged. "The doctor entered the room and shot some Novocain into my nose that went down my throat," Francis stated. "He left. I went numb. He came back. Shoved a metal scope into my left nostril that reached into my throat. He looked into it and poked around for about 10 seconds. Pulled it out, turned around and said, 'This is not good.'"

"This is not good?" Apparently, real doctors have been watching too many E.R. reruns and phasing out the "hmmmmm's" and "okaaaay's" in favor of Noah Wiley's oafish, "Well, Ms. Smith, I'm afraid you're fucked." But the visit didn't stop there: Sage's throat specialist explained that Francis had sprouted polyps on each vocal cord, and that, due to excessive straining, he had even developed a nodule on top of one of the polyps-- a rare condition. "Polyps can usually be cured with lots of rest to your voice," the doctor reportedly told him, "but nodules can only be removed with surgery. Surgery will cause a distinguishable change to your voice. Without taking care of these things right now you risk losing your voice forever."

The physician then laid down the law, instructing Francis not to utter a single, solitary word for the next two weeks-- not even one-syllable rap idioms like "ungh" or "yo"-- as it's the only way to bring down the swelling. But fortunately, two weeks and a great, lasting silence later, it appears his doctor was just being super dramatic, and possibly a little mean: "He said that I've had an amazing recovery," Francis proudly reported yesterday morning. "No need for surgery. I just have to take better care of myself... Vocal exercises. No more smoking crack... Thanks for all your throat prayers." Yeah, so much for that "nodules can only be removed with surgery" bit. SMACK.

Francis may now resume work on his forthcoming Epitaph Records debut, which was promised an early-to-mid-2004 release by the label last year. "It's half recorded already," said the depolyp'd vocalist, who spent his quiet time reworking some of the record's lyrics. Luden's cough drops may be sent to Francis c/o Epitaph Records at the following address:

Epitaph Los Angeles
2798 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA. 90026