Tom Morello

Tom Morello was born in Harlem and raised in Libertyville, Illinois, by his mother after his father, a Kenyan diplomat who had taken part in the Mau Mau Uprising and later served as Kenya's first ambassador to the United Nations, returned home when Morello was sixteen months old. He described himself as the only anarchist at a conservative high school.

He studied political science at Harvard before moving to Los Angeles, where his earlier band Lock Up broke up. Through that scene he met Zack de la Rocha, and together they formed Rage Against the Machine, which grew into one of the most popular and influential metal acts of the 1990s.

His guitar playing became known for techniques rarely heard outside his own records: toggle-switch stutters, whammy-pedal squeals and scratching effects built entirely from feedback and picking rather than turntables. Rolling Stone ranked him 18th among the greatest guitarists of all time, and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Rage Against the Machine in 2023.

Beyond Rage he has recorded with Audioslave and Prophets of Rage, formed Street Sweeper Social Club with Boots Riley, and released acoustic, folk-leaning material as the Nightwatchman alongside solo albums built around guest singers and players. He has also toured as an occasional member of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

His activism runs alongside the music: he co-founded Axis of Justice, which airs a monthly program on the Los Angeles station KPFK, and has remained a vocal presence in labour organising throughout his career.