The last time music reacted this forcefully to U.S. politics was during the era of George W. Bush. Two decades later, public interest has surged again, signaling a renewed appetite for songs that speak directly to political unrest.
The path of “Start a Fire,” a song by DAMAG3 and The Neighborhood Kids, shows how protest rap is re-emerging in response to political unrest.
After hearing “Kids in the Cages,” another protest song from The Neighborhood Kids, songwriter and rapper Grandson introduced the group to Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. Morello then brought DAMAG3 and The Neighborhood Kids together in a Los Angeles studio where “Start a Fire” took form.
See how “Start a Fire” came together with artists navigating collaboration, visibility, and urgency in real time. This video, featuring footage from The Neighborhood Kids’ final East Coast appearance with Morello, shows the band mid-stride, as their music takes shape to meet the political and cultural moment.
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