Prophets Full Of Rage After YouTube Restriction
Prophets Of Rage is raging at YouTube over an age restriction placed on the group’s politically provocative video for “Hail To The Chief” from its newly released self-titled debut albums.
The group has issued a statement calling the restriction “censorship” and an “egregious violation of our right to free speech. We were shocked to see that YouTube has placed an age restriction (on the video), something no other media outlet has done…One can watch Saddam Hussein’s execution with no age restriction, can watch a car kill innocent bystanders in Charlottesville, but one cannot watch a politically minded video?? We question this decision by YouTube and demand free and unrestricted access to the video immediately.”
YouTube has not responded to Prophets’ protest yet.
The song and video are, of course, part and parcel of the all-star group’s mission, and guitarist Tom Morello tells us that Prophets does not consider itself tied to a single ideology:
“In the post-Trump universe the theme of this band has been clear from day one; The world is not gonna change itself, that’s up to you…It’s time to unf*** the world, and we’re the cultural wing of the resistance. We’re basically auditioning to be the band of the people, and that lane right now is open and until somebody else really raises their hands, it’s our job to step up.”
Prophets has seven shows booked in the U.S. and Europe during October and November, including festivals in Louisville, New Orleans and San Bernardino, Calif. A full tour is planned for 2018.
Gary Graff is an award-winning music journalist who not only covers music but has written books on Bob Seger, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.
