Rolling Stone (7/5/01, pp.139-40) - 3 out of 5 stars - "...Franti uses the entire span of the record to chip away at a single issue: the folly of the death penalty....there's genuine excitement in hearing him leap nimbly between tart funk and loose organic funk..."
Spin (7/01, pp.134-5) - 7 out of 10 - "...He establishes compassion and earns affection....the music per se conveying deep feeling....Franti has favored a retro, flow-through groove, and here his funk adds a decidedly disco flavor..."
Q (6/01, p.106) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Fluid, lyrical, hip-to-the-beat and viscerally moving soul..."
Alternative Press (7/01, p.73) - 6 out of 10 - "...The subject matter may be a bit heavy, but the beats keep it bouncing along..."
JazzTimes (12/01, p.156) - "...One of the best politically charged hip-hop albums of the year..."
Vibe (6/01, p.136) - 4.5 discs out of 5 - "...As today's greatest inheritor of Gil Scott-Heron's artistic legacy, Franti deserves the highest props..."
NME (Magazine) (5/5/01, p.36) - 6 out of 10 - "...Smoothly welds musical styles: string-infused breezy funk swinging from jazz into pumping gospel-disco....Conspiracy theories have never sounded so catchy..."
Spearhead: Michael Franti (vocals, guitar, programming); Carl Young (vocals, flute, saxophone, keyboards, bass); Dave Shul (guitar); Roberto Quintana (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel includes: Zap Mama, Radio (Active), Woody Harrelson, Kiilu Nyasha, Brother Sunshine, Tanya Saw, Nazelah Johnson (vocals); Gordon Ramos (saxophone); Victor Castro (trombone); Ramon Lazo (Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards); Bob Crawford (keyboards); Al Marshall, Jay Lane (drums); Troy Lampkins (cuts); Caitlin Cornwall, Josh Klor, Mary Harris (background vocals).
Recorded at The Sugar Shack, San Francisco, California.