Tom Morello knows a thing or two about protest music.
So when the Rage Against The Machine guitarist calls a band “the Rage of now,” ears should prick up. That honour, according to Morello, goes to Irish rap provocateurs Kneecap. The Belfast trio who’ve been lighting stages (and political nerves) on fire all summer.
Appearing on The Strombo Show last week, Morello didn’t flinch when asked who’s carrying the revolutionary torch today. “Kneecap are clearly the Rage Against The Machine of now,” he said. “There’s them, and there’s a gap to the next one.”
It’s not just about volume or anger. It’s about intent. “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,” Morello added. “And, you know, Kneecap are not terrorists. What is terroristic is 20,000 dead Palestinian children. That’s the story.”
His words come in the middle of a media firestorm surrounding Kneecap, triggered by their Glastonbury set. After BBC pulled their livestream, after the police launched investigations, and after UK politicians cried foul, Kneecap didn’t fold — they doubled down. They slammed Keir Starmer on stage. They backed Palestine. They made noise, and they’re still making it.
Morello’s endorsement cuts through the tabloid hysteria. He sees Kneecap not as controversy bait, but as vital cultural resistance and he’s right. Their music isn’t always easy, and their live sets don’t play nice. That’s the point. It’s confrontation with a pulse.
When the London Underground bans your gig poster for being “likely to cause widespread or serious offence,” you’re probably doing something right.
Kneecap aren’t here to be digestible either. It goes without saying, they’re here to rattle the cage — and thanks to Morello’s co-sign, the message is loud and clear: this isn’t just a flash in the pan. It’s a movement. And fair play to it.
RELATED
MORE IN Music
