New Music | Prophets of Rage Debut 1st Single

Photo: Kevin Winter (Getty Images)

“It has to start somewhere/it has to start sometime/what better place than here?/what better time than now,” were the incendiary lyrics on Rage Against The Machine’s 1999 anthem “Guerilla Radio,” but it’s an apt description of the first single from Prophets of Rage. The supergroup or “elite task force of revolutionary musicians” as guitarist Tom Morello prefers is basically an Avengers-like team up from iconic groups we grew up with: Rage Against the Machine’s Morrello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk, along with Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Cypress Hill’s B-Real. The timing of the release is no accident as Morello stated to Rolling Stone that the band was going to “wreak havoc” at the Republican Convention, which kicks-off today in Cleveland, OH. 

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This 21st Century version of Public Enemy’s original “Prophets of Rage” song from which the band takes their name is a “reimagining” that feels and sounds like a classic Rage Against the Machine song until Chuck D (reprising lyrics from the OG version) and B-Real (dropping an all-new original verse) slide in with their rat-tat-tat lyrical flurry. The single will be available via digital download and streaming services later today and will appear on an EP due later this year. Here’s betting that the song will be a centerpiece of the band’s just-announced free concert and rally today on the streets of Cleveland. 

The band will also perform the single on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Monday, July 25 before embarking on the “Make America Rage Again,” tour (see dates here) that includes stops in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Chicago, Nashville and Atlanta before concluding in San Diego, mere weeks before 2016 Election Day. A portion of the proceeds from each show will benefit a local homeless charity.