Over the years the name Michael Franti has become synonymous with hope, positivity and social activism. It’s there in the music he makes with Spearhead, it’s there in his new album Work Hard & Be Nice, and it’s there in his lyrics, which offer a beacon of light for millions of fans around the world.

Michael has, however, long dealt with the emotional trauma of being given up for adoption at birth, an act that left him searching for his identity and helped shape the course of his artistic career, as he discusses in this interview.