During a recent appearance on The Strombo Show, guitarist Tom Morello was asked to name a modern band who he thinks are using their music to take a political stance similar to how he does with his own music.
“The one most recently is a San Diego hip hop duo called The Neighborhood Kids, and certainly has one bit of Rage Against the Machine in them. But they rap lived experience, and they really mean it in a way that you kind of go like, ‘Thank goodness, somebody has the guts to say it,’ you know,” he said. “And in the UK, Nova Twins are a group that I really like, they’re a young band.”
The interviewer then brought up Kneecap – an Irish hip-hop group that has been embroiled in controversy and who have faced charges of terrorism after expressing their support for Palestine.
“At the top of the list,” Morello said regarding Kneecap. “At the top of the list. I mean, they’re clearly the Rage Against the Machine of now. But then [after them], there’s a gap to the next one.”
Despite there being a push by certain groups to stifle freedom of expression, Morello is optimistic that musicians will continue to be able to use music to speak their minds – and encourages young bands to do just that.
“The way I look at it is, like, the music of Rage Against the Machine still does serve the purpose. I hear it in the streets and I see it on the signs and whatnot. But sitting around and waiting for Rage Against the Machine — you should form your own band,” he said
“You should do your own thing. In your line of work, you should be raging against the machine.”
Morello was then asked whether the Sex Pistols or The Clash inspired him in his work with Rage Against the Machine.
“The Pistols made me pick up a guitar, but The Clash was the one that made me realize that there was a lane — a heretofore unseen lane — where the things that I believed and the music I loved could overlap.”
