Nina Simone once famously declared all artists to have a duty to reflect the times in which they live. This a philosophy that has saturated the careers of all the members of Prophets of Rage during their times in such iconic bands as Public Enemy, Cypress Hill and Rage Against the Machine. So, it should be no surprise that the Prophets of Rage debut album is a muscular sonic push back against the so-called alt-right and the entrenched injustices of the American Way.
“Living on the 110”, “Strength in Numbers” and “Fired a Shot” all rail against western capitalism and they’re quite a heady brew with Timmy C and Brad Wilks laying down some heavy funk grooves, Tom Morello breaking in with almost Zappa-esque guitar runs and Chuck D and B-Real leaving no doubt as to where they stand. There are, however, somewhat inevitably times when the sloganeering of Prophets of Rage displays all the sophistication of a teenage anarchist hopped up on cheap cider with Chuck D bellowing such trite inanities as “All democracies/Hypocrisies” and “Unfuck the World”. But perhaps that’s just what’s needed when your president has declared a moral equivalency between neo-Nazis and the organised left. Nevertheless, it’s a minor quibble and Prophets of Rage still has plenty of fiery gems like “Hail to the Chief” and “Who Owns Who” which come on like a 21st-century MC5 by marrying a lively groove with some serious volume, while getting righteous and revolutionary.
Prophets of Rage is a cracking blast of punk-fuelled hip hop which has no truck with guns, bitches or bling but deals firmly with modern American reality. It’s just a shame that, apart from on the sampled and looped “Counter Offensive”, mix master DJ Lord feels underused in the face of occasionally relentless guitars and drums.
