An anti-Donald Trump rap-rock supergroup — Prophets of Rage, consisting of members of Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill — have threatened to “cause a ruckus” in July at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
Sporting a ball cap with the words, “Make America Rage Again,” former Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello told Bloomberg that the GOP’s national convention “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.”
“We have a venue and there may be venues that will be spontaneous venues, it’s hard to say,” Morello added. “This is the kind of thing you don’t broadcast to the local authorities prior to arrival.”
Protesting at Republican conventions is familiar territory for Morello.
Rage Against the Machine reunited in 2008 and put on a concert just days before the Republican National Convention took place in the Minnesota city. The band provoked a protest that reportedly led to over 100 arrests.
“Anything’s possible,” Morello reluctantly said when asked if Prophets of Rage had plans to crash the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
But with certainty, the guitarist said: “We’ll be rocking furiously in and around the RNC.”
Before forming his newest music group, Morello spent several month on the road as a touring musician with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. He actually credits “The Boss” for inspiring him to make more politically-charged music.
In April, the guitarist praised Springsteen after the E Street Band leader canceled his concert in North Carolina over that state’s Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, also known as the transgender “bathroom” law.
“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 in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. “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.”
Later in the Bloomberg Politics interview, Morello called Donald Trump a “racist demagogue,” Senator Bernie Sanders a “dreamer,” and maintained that Hillary Clinton is “the lesser of three evils.”
Public Enemy founding member Chuck D said he’s “never” seen the difference between Republicans and Democrats.
“Yo, Donald Trump, the party’s over,” Cypress Hill member B-Real yells on one of the group’s new songs.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @jeromeehudson
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