Photo: Still
Rage Against The Machine’s Zach de la Rocha has released the first track form a solo album he's been crafting for years. You can stream it below.
The rest of Rage Against The Machine have been busy touring in Prophets of Rage with Chuck D and Be Real. Tim Commerford has also been on the road with Wakrat. But we haven’t heard much about what Zach’s been up to.
Fortunately, he’s been busy writing music. It would be a travesty if he didn't as he’s one of the only artists to ever write protest music that can relate as broadly and powerfully as he's done over the years.
The song is called ‘Digging For Windows’ and it’s produced by El-P who collaborated with de la Roacha on Run The Jewels 2 cut ‘Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)’.
the ZDR the album is happening. 2017.
— el-p (@therealelp) September 8, 2016
Although this is his first song to come from his debut solo album set for release in 2017, the singer has had plenty of collaborations since Rage Against The Machine stopped being a full time thing in 2000.
He’s put out over 20 tracks with Trent Reznor, DJ Shadow, EL-P, Questlove and others. However, in 2008 he revealed in an interview with the Los Angles Times that he felt like he was going through the motions and as such wasn't ready to make those sessions his album sessions.
Years later he sounds like he's gunning for it and if this is anything to go by the album will be immense. The cut utilises MPCs and has a post-industrial feel as the beat starts out stripped back offering prominence to Zach’s stanzas – he comes across as much a poet as rapper. And the title, Digging For Windows, conjures up imagery of the suffering of people behind bars.
As the cut gets going heavy swaggering bass swings in. It sounds dangerous, adrenalised, angry, urgent, and locks your attention. This is the most exciting music he’s put out since Rage Against The Machine. Incredible, unmissable stuff.
