Rage Against The Machine had such a productive 1999-2000 that their fans might have thought the LA rap-rock trailblazers were about to enter an uncharacteristic productive phase after their breakthrough decade yielded just three albums. Reality was soon about to bite, though, even if things looked initially promising when the quartet followed up their 1999 third album The Battle Of Los Angeles with a world tour and the news that they were working on both a covers album and a live release.
“What began as a couple of bonus tracks has blossomed into one of the most powerful records of our career,” guitarist Tom Morello said in a statement when that covers collection, to be titled Renegades, was announced. “There has never been another album like this where a band like Rage Against The Machine has recorded an entire CD of revolutionary versions of classic hip-hop and rock songs. We attack these songs with the same irreverence for convention with which they were written.”
