Prophets of Rage Plot RNC Convention Takeover in Cleveland
Prophets of Rage, the supergroup featuring members of Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy‘s Chuck D and Cypress Hill‘s B-Real, have revealed that they’ll be in Cleveland to “Make America Rage Again” during the Republican National Convention in July. “We’ll be rocking furiously in and around the RNC,” guitarist Tom Morello told Bloomberg Politics.
“Well there’s a thing called the Republican National Convention in July, and that will be a perfect place for a band like Prophets of Rage to cause a ruckus, and we will be there on the streets, in the field,” Morello said. “We have a venue and there may be venues that will be spontaneous venues, it’s hard to say. This is the kind of thing you don’t broadcast to the local authorities prior to arrival.”
In 2008, Rage Against the Machine reunited to stage a concert at Minneapolis’ Target Center just days before the RNC took place in the Minnesota city. Following the performance, over 100 people were arrested during the protests sparked by the RATM concert.
As for whether Prophets of Rage might also invade the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Morello warned, “Anything’s possible.”
The guitarist also talked about how music can serve as a catalyst for change. “My view is that progressive, radical change always comes from below, not above. So even if you stake all of your hopes for you and your family on hope, well sometimes that doesn’t work out. If you stake it on this xenophobic, fear-based racism, that’s not gonna work out either,” Morello said.
“The underlying problems are systemic. The songs that we’ve been writing about for decades attack the system, not the individual candidates. How people change the world, it starts around people’s kitchen tables, it starts in their classrooms, it starts wherever people talk about making a world we want to one day see.”
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Morello hinted that Prophets of Rage might take over the RNC and explained why the supergroup is necessary right now.
“Prophets of Rage combines the sonic power of Rage, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill. It’s my contention that we can no longer stand on the sidelines of history. Dangerous times demand dangerous songs,” Morello said. “Both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are both constantly referred to in the media as raging against the machine. We’ve come back to remind everyone what raging against the machine really means.”
Find out five things we learned from Prophets of Rage.