Tom Morello has released a new protest song titled Stand Up, which has been inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Rage Against The Machine guitarist has teamed up with Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds for the song, along with transgender rights activist Shea Diamond and Bloody Beetroots.
Morello says: “I grew up in the tiny lily white, archly conservative town of Libertyville, Illinois. When I was a kid, someone hung a noose in my family’s garage, there was occasional N-word calling, etc, etc.
“On June 6 of this year, there was a Black Lives Matter rally and march in that same town that drew over 1000 people.
“It seems that the times, they are a’changin’. I was so inspired that night, I reached out to Dan from Imagine Dragons. The Bloody Beetroots and I had conjured a slamming track and within 24 hours Dan had sent back a completed vocal.
“We got Shea Diamond, a Black transgender woman with a long history of activism, on the track and the coalition was complete.”
All proceeds from sales of Stand Up will go to NAACP, Know Your Rights Camp, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Marsha P. Johnson Institute.
Rage Against The Machine announced their reunion in November last year following the deactivation of Prophets Of Rage.
The band were due to tour this year, but called off their plans in light of the coronavirus pandemic, saying they would commence their live shows “at such a time when we are confident it will be safe for our fans.”
