The reigning agent provocateur of hip hop, Sage Francis, brings his 'Li(f)e Abroad' tour to NZ this October with new material from his electrifying fourth album, Li(f)e.

Sage Francis has never been afraid to provoke. As a result he is a sometimes polarising, increasingly important figure in modern music. Adored by many, reviled by a few but never ignored and always essential, he has developed into a fearless social critic. Sage’s fan base continues to grow outside of the hip hop community with the assistance of his influential supporters, most recently in the form of BBC1 announcer Zane Lowe. Zane has been championing 'Best Of Times', the lead single from Li(f)e, leading to two sold out London shows with tickets exhausted two months in advance of Sage's arrival.

Sage's extraordinary rhyming skills are used to explore such unconventional and wide ranging topics as religion, death, mental illness and corporate greed. Like so many great songwriters before, he uses his gifted wordplay for a much greater good, creating vivid narratives and heartfelt confessionals which both instigate and inspire. With his new album, Li(f)e, he has delivered a masterfully original work. The record features notable French poser Yann Tierson, along with musicians from bands such as Califone, Sparklehorse, Calexico, Grandaddy, Death Cab for Cutie and Buck 65.

Joining Sage Francis for all shows will be his Strange Famous Records label mate, B. Dolan. This will be Dolan’s first venture to NZ, where he will not only play main support but will also collaborate with Sage on several songs throughout the evening.