Renegades

Renegades, released on 5 December 2000, is the fourth and final album, and all twelve of its songs are other people's. Zack de la Rocha's rap and Tom Morello's guitar give the originals a new tension. The choices range widely, but heavy rhythm and a rebellious posture pull the whole into one. Rick Rubin produced it in the main, with Brendan O'Brien and the band themselves also involved. The recording had finished before the split was announced. But on 18 October 2000 de la Rocha declared his departure, citing breakdowns in communication and in how the group made decisions, and this became their parting shot. Eric B. & Rakim, Volume 10, MC5, Afrika Bambaataa, Devo, EPMD, Minor Threat, Cypress Hill, Bruce Springsteen, the Stooges, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan — a roll call cutting across hip-hop, punk and rock. It opens on Eric B. & Rakim's “Microphone Fiend” and closes on Dylan's “Maggie's Farm.” Not a tribute so much as a set of reinterpretations stating the band's aesthetic. No. 14 in the US, over a million copies there. The record for learning where they drew their power from.