is it just me or does there sound like there's an angry cat in the background??

It was quality when they did this live at t in the park, so glad i got to see them,

Actually. It was the first song that made me familiar with RATM.

Just another great cover of a great song.

"Destroy our nations"

Guys, watch the music video. Now do you get it? This song is about renegades "of their time and age"

i had to do this for english!
ahahhaa

The song ‘Renegades of Funk’ by Rage against the Machine portrays the concept of change strongly through its lyrics. It is about how much the world has changed because of people who stood up for their rights and fought for what they believed in for example the Malcolm X reference, an American Black Muslim Minister Malcolm X who stood up against the governments views. This is obvious in the lines ‘...there were always renegades, Like Chief Sitting Bull, Tom Paine, Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X’ who were all responsible for change or revolution in their own time, eg Dr Martin Luther Kings fundamental work for the rights of black people in the 1960s. The band is relating themselves to these people to show that they are also standing up for something, in this case being the genre ‘funk’.
There is obvious rhyme ‘poppin, sockin, rockin’, repetition is used throughout most of the song for example in the chorus with the line ‘We’re the renegades of funk’. There is some alliteration in the line ‘musical mission’ which also implies that they are on a mission as if they feel it is their duty to bring funk upon the world. It is their self-set, self-determined mission following in the footsteps of the people who also set themselves missions on what they wanted the world to become, eg Tom Paine who was known as "The Father of the American Revolution". The instruments used in this song collaboratively define the songs genre as ‘funk’. In particular the artificial sounding highly strung guitar sounds combined with the constant bongos create a contrast between the past and present. With a deep baseline throughout the entire song and the background noises of bongo drums and modern day drums, the song is very catchy and also helps tell the story as the music progresses. There is also a possible biblical reference when ‘A new musical revelation’ is mentioned in the song, saying that they think they will be remembered forever, like those in the book of revelation.
The tone of the song could be described as informative, it uses informal language, an almost conversational style, very genuine and slightly demanding. The mood created is that of intrigue because it makes you interested in this new genre called funk, you think it must be something of high importance for someone to write a song about it. There is a lot of respect for the people who they gave reference to, you can tell because the band is comparing themselves to them meaning that they look up to them. They are the ones who tried to change the world in the past eg Chief Sitting Bull who was killed because he was part of a rebellion against the white Americans who didn’t want him too influence the other American Indians to go against the American government,. They refer to the world today as the ‘atomic age’ because of the now violent nature of human society, with world wars and atomic weapons, how we have slowly become worse over time. The audience intended to listen to this song would be more younger probably around 13-25 because of its musical style appealing to today’s youth who are more into loud, rock/funk music than older people.
Overall, the entire song is really a comparison between the band demonstrating their new style of music and the people referred to (Dr. Martin Luther King etc), demonstrating their views on the world. The song is about those people who have changed the world for the better, against discrimination and racism and Rage Against the Machine hope that their new style of music can help to make the world a better place as well.

I own this CD, and it sucks. The only good song is this one.

i think that this album wasn't as good because none of the content in it was orignal (all cover songs) and with all the fighting btwn the band there wasn't 100% comitment in the album eather

haha
i imagine de la Rocha cracking a whip while singing the "grove sucka, move sucka" part.. take that you greedy corporate nobodies ^_^

"From a different solar system many many galaxies away
We are the force of another creation
A new musical revelation
And we're on this musical mission to help the others listen
And groove from land to land singin' electronic chants"

I think that particular verse is a direct reference to Parliament Funkadelic (the REAL renegades of funk, if George Clinton wasn't a renegade then nobody was) anyone else think so? Their whole theme involved aliens bringing the greatness of funk to Earth.

I really want to hear the original version of this song.

this was a cover by afrika bambatitaaatata which was old school hipnhop

so rage are due to reform for coachella and regardless of your interpretations of this track or its origin it will be VERY interesting to see if it appears in there line up!!
do love the track but it doesnt touch on there older stuff!
peace!

I've never been big on cover albums, but renegades is quite impressive, and this song is easily my favorite track. "we change the course of history, everyday people like you and me" pretty much says it all. the people who make our world a better place are regular folks who aren't afraid to buck the norm.

BTW, rage is reuniting this year for Rock the Bells. aw yeah...

this song is a tribute to all the people who stood against what was wrong (mainly the goverment) throughout the course of history.

P.S. this album sucked, this is the only semi-listenable song on the whole album

P.P.S. RATM is an really awesome band, but Audioslave was ALOT better. Wish they never broke up.

When Rage mention Tom Paine in this song, they're referring to the 18th Century revolutionary. But in the original Afrikaa Bambaataa version, did they mean him, or Tom Payne, the basketball player?

Why oh why are there no longer songs like this one produced today? The music industry wouldn't be so full of garbage and redundant music if artists like Zach were still around. Come back Zach!

haha it does sound like when a redneck needs to fuck hehhee!!

PANTS ARE COOL TO WEAR WHILE LISTENING TO THEM! LEVI STRAUSS MADE THEM AND HES A RENEGADE OF QUEER. SO WEAR UR GIRL PANTIES WHILE LISTENING TO RATM! HEH. A MAN IS HAVING A RENEGADE WHILE FUNKING HEH.

ur all negros man. i didnt no rage against the fagets broke up bcuz of the kkk!

Sorry wasn't finnished lets try that again shall we?

I really like this song and think its one of RATM's best despite being a cover. I think Tom's guitar work really shows off on this song. How I Could just Kill A Man is another one of my all time fav RATM songs which means Renegades was not as much as a let down for me as it seems to be for some people...

Anyway this song was originally by Afrika Bambata and compares the social activism that encompassed a lot of Afrika Bambata's music to that of white, black and native Americans who resisted tyranny and suggests that hip-hop is the new kind of revolution. It's not hard to see why Rage chose to cover this song given its blatant political message and the fact that Afrika Bambata was probably a key influence on RATM along with Body Count, Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys.

I really like this song and think its one of RATM's best despite being a cover. I think Tom's guitar work really shows off on this song. How I Could just Kill A Man is another one of my f

I think tha hole rengades album is fuckin amazing, ratm did an awesome job with all the songs especially renegades of funk and how i could just kill a man, they split up in 2002 after the mtv awards because brad threatened to jump off a building because they didnt win best music video. RAGE 4 EVA MA BROTHERS!

You kids crack me up. It's a tribute to all the great funk and soul bands. James Brown was frightenly accurate in his lyrics on blacks suffering in almost all of his songs. He just made them sound happy :) Hes giving even more of a tribute to all the great speakers who put their life on the line, and I love it becuase these people were never renegades just outspoken and leaders which scares the S*!t out of the US.

"There was a time when our music
Was something called the Bay Street beat
People would gather from all around
To get down to the big sound
You had to be a renegade in those days
To take a man to the dance floor"

I have no idea what the bay street beat is but we're talking about a time when America was much more seperated and kids (renegades) would meet and party in the streets or wherever on their own terms. Not have it all dished out by nbc or whichever one company it is that owns everything nowadays.
"people with their own philosophies"

YOU'RE A BAD THING!!!!! WHAT NOW?!?!?!?!?

You say it like it's a bad thing