During a recent chat with George Stroumboulopoulos on “The Strombo Show,” Tom Morello discussed some of the artists that are carrying on the spirit of Rage Against The Machine. Notably, he also referred to Kneecap as “the Rage Against The Machine of now.”
Morello said the following about the bands he has been paying attention to:
“I just invited, like, the one most recently is a San Diego hip-hop duo called The Neighborhood Kids, [they] certainly [have] 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. And in the UK, Nova Twins are a group that I really like. They’re a young, young band.”
He continued after Stroumboulopoulos brought up Kneecap, who have been extremely vocal about their support of Palestine amid Israel’s war in Gaza:
“[They’re at] at the top of the list, at the top of the list. I mean, they’re clearly the Rage Against The Machine of now, like there’s them, and there’s a gap to the next one.”
Stroumboulopoulos went on to discuss how Kneecap’s Mo Chara was hit with a terrorism charge over a “human rights thing.” That incident was related to a 2024 show in which he allegedly held up a flag in support of Hezbollah. Morello added the following about that:
“What they’re doing in their art is what people could probably stand to do more in their lives: to really speak truth to power. And, you know, Kneecap are not terrorists. What is terroristic is, you know, 20,000 dead Palestinian children. That’s the story. Not, I mean, some Irish rappers who don’t like that that’s happening. [That] should not be the story.”
Morello then circled back to Rage Against The Machine:
“The way I look at is like, yes, 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. You should do your own thing, in your line of work you should be raging against the machine.”
[via The PRP]
Metal Anarchy 
2 responses to “Tom Morello Says Kneecap Are “The Rage Against The Machine Of Now””
[…] previously reported, Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello recently praised Kneecap, calling them “the Rage Against The Machine of now.” However, it appears his comments […]
[…] previously reported, Morello initially made headlines after calling Kneecap “the Rage Against The Machine of now.” This comment fired up Draiman, who has an issue with Kneecap’s stance on the war in […]