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The roots of De la Rocha's rage are in his hometown of Irvine, Calif. He went to a mostly white high school where, as a Chicano, he seethed at racist comments about "wetbacks" made by students and teachers alike. At age 17, he saw a show by the black punk group Bad Brains, and it was "a personal revolution." De la Rocha, Morello, drummer Brad Wilk and bassist Tim Commerford formed Rage in 1991.
De la Rocha, now 29, draws inspiration for his lyrics from bands like Public Enemy and writers like James Baldwin and Eduardo Galeano. Songs on the new CD take on the media coverage of the Gulf War and the plight of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a black journalist on death row whom many people (De la Rocha included) feel was unjustly convicted.
De la Rocha has a lofty goal as a lyricist: "I try to write songs that engage people in a critical dialogue about fighting for and among dispossessed peoples around the world." Still, even Bob Marley wrote ballads. Could De la Rocha ever see himself writing a love song? "Every revolutionary act is an act of love," he says. "[So] every song I've ever written has been a love song." From that perspective, The Battle of Los Angeles, with its scathing guitars and whiplash lyrics, is the most romantic CD of the year.