Radio first introduced me to Sage Francis, which is surprising.

He's a white rap artist who has mostly existed under the radar so far, never touching on the mainstream. However, I happen to have a decent alternative radio station in Portland, Oregon where the DJs are given some leeway to play music that they like, but that isn't on the official playlist. The first song I heard from Sage Francis was "Hey Bobby," which actually is from his band Non-Prophets, a collaboration between Sage and Joe Beats.

I immediately loved the song, which combined hip hop with some very explicit social and political commentary. From that song, I found "Makeshift Patriot," which Sage wrote, recorded and released shortly after 9/11. It acted as a commentary on the media post-9/11 and Sage did not hold back in what he thought were the media's failings.

Strangely, I have yet to pick up either the Non-Prophets album or the more recent solo CD from Sage titled Personal Journals. I keep meaning to grab them, but haven't done it yet. Therefore, when I had the chance to snag a review copy of Sage's new album, A Healthy Distrust, from Epitaph, I jumped at the chance. I wanted to finally have a full length album to see if he held up as well throughout an entire CD as he did in those two songs I had heard.

I'm happy to say that he is just as impressive in full length form as he is in single tracks. In fact, A Healthy Distrust is one hell of an album, ripping through 15 songs of surprising diversity. Sage Francis is Epitaph's first hip hop artist and it's easy to see why they signed him. He is an incredible musical talent and a truly great writer. The lyrics on display in this album are very impressive, ranging from personal reflection to social and political commentary. Furthermore, none of these songs sound alike. There's a great range on the album, leaving it feeling fresh throughout.

Sage has been compared favorably to Eminem and I'm just going to go ahead and do the same here. My experience with rap is limited. I like some of Eminem's work and I'm a fan of a lot of what Tupac put out, but I don't own many other rap albums. Much of the hate, homophobia and misogyny that is on display in many mainstream rap artists turns me off and I haven't yet gathered enough motivation to really delve into the underground and less mainstream realms of rap, in which there seems to be some amazing talent lurking.

Now, when Eminem turns away from his own immaturity and becomes intent on writing personal and emotional songs, I think he turns out some true art. Sage Francis is better than Eminem on his best day. He's always in that mode and doesn't bother with the immature filler. Francis just wants to make great, personal rap music.