John Forté
PopTech 2009
John Forté was a remarkably accomplished musician and producer whose career was interrupted by a 14-year sentence for a first-time non-violent drug offense. When his sentence was commuted by President Bush late in 2008, after Forté had already served seven years in a federal prison, he wasted no time getting back to the music.
This past July, Forté released StyleFREE the EP as well as several MP3s into the blogosphere, including “Life Has Just Begun (Returning Home),” “Homecoming” (featuring Talib Kweli), and a remake of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.”
Prior to his incarceration, Forté produced and co-wrote tracks for The Fugees’ multi-platinum 1996 album The Score and had recorded two solo albums. In addition to touring and performing, he writes articles for The Daily Beast and works with In Arms Reach, a Harlem-based organization for at-risk youth at City College in New York.
His upcoming memoir is under contract with Simon & Schuster, and will document his childhood in Brownsville, Brooklyn, his later experience on a scholarship at Phillips Exeter, the indignities of incarceration and the exhilaration of rising from the ashes.
Watch John Forte’s performance at Poptech 2009