During the cultures infancy, hip-hop and rock and roll we’re like rebellious twin brothers. They matched loud, counter culture sounds and energy often joining each other on stage and on tour to create the ultimate ‘turn that noise off’ moment.
But as money and industry politics got more involved, Hip-Hop and Rock and Roll began to separate from each other, deciding that they we’re too different to be from the same blood line.
Today, Rock and Roll and Hip-Hop are like distant cousins. While acts like Rage Against the Machine and to a lesser extent Limp Bizkit made it a reconciliation seem possible, that committee didn’t last. They see each other at all the familiar family functions, but they don’t really hang out anymore. Game Rebellion is trying to change that. The Brooklyn New York fivesome are determined to bring Rock and Hip-Hop back together. Zack De La Rocha would be proud.
Yohimbe and Netic sat down with wordonthestreetsmag.com to talk about their Rock/Rap influences and why they’re not “Rage Against The Machine.”
Wordonthestreetsmag.com: How did the group come together?
Yohimbe: We were all playing at different clubs in New York. We were doing parties in Manhattan and needed a house band. We wound up playing ourselves. We started playing and the crowd was loving what we were doing. While we were playing, we saw someone come out from the crowd and get on the keys and start playing. We didn’t know who the person was.
Netic: But he was good (laughs)
Wordonthestreetsmag.com: Describe the Game Rebellion sound.
Yohimbe: We’re eclectic. There’s a large rock element. We have the hip-hop element with the drum patterns and the lyricism. As a musician you want to push yourself to do more than what’s asked. I feel like hip-hop has been boxed in. I love Rage Against the Machine I love a lot of rock and roll groups. I feel like hip-hop and rock share a common anger. The Game Rebellion is a black experience. There’s no limit to what we can do
Netic: The EP is coming out Jan 18th. The single “Blind” is out right now. We’ll be on the road. We’re always creating, that process won’t end.
Wordonthestreetsmag.com: After listening to you guys, you remind me a little bit of Rage against the Machine.
Netic: Honestly, Game Rebellion isn’t Rage Against the Machine. There is a true void because there aren’t social driven bands right now. They can relate to us in a way that they couldn’t relate to them. Rage resonated with Black kids. We like when we hear, “You sound like a newer, fresher Rage” but we represent our experience.
Yohimbe: I feel like it’s the perfect time for us. Coming up riding skateboards and listening to Jimi Hendirx, we were looked at as crazy. Having a guitar was different. Now we’re freed up. Its not weird anymore to see a black kid playing guitar. Black kids are opened up to so many new things. I feel like you loose a bit of yourself when you don’t open yourself up to something new.
Wordonthestreetsmag.com: Talk about your new LP ‘Sounds Like A Riot”
Yohimbe: People are gonna love it. It’s a chance to really present ourselves to the world. The comments we’ve been seeing are great. We’ve had fans who have seen us live say things like “Now I can listen to the songs that you play live in my car when I drive around” “Blind” is available on itunes right now. It speaks to the music that we’ve been making. You hear the super heavy guitars combined with the hip-hop.
Wordonthestreetsmag.com: What can we expect from Game Rebellion through the rest of the year?
Netic: A lot! The record is coming soon. We’ll be hitting the road and performing. It’s great to be able to travel to other states and play. Who we are is based off our performance so we love performing. You have to experience it.
Go to Gamerebellion.com to really get the Game Rebellion experience and look for the single “Blind” itunes and the album “Sounds Like a Riot”
Check out their new video “Blind”
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