The original vehicle for social and political critic Michael Franti (later of the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy and Spearhead), the Beatnigs used elements of industrial music and punk on their lone album, a 1988 self-titled effort for Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles label. After its release and a remix of the single "Television" by Adrian Sherwood, the group broke up; Franti, however, returned to music three years later with his Disposable Heroes project, an act in much the same vein as the Beatnigs but with more ties to rap. ~ John Bush