Biography

Zack de la Rocha is one of the biggest and most well-respected names in alternative music, known equally for his militant political activism and passionate vocal delivery. In the '90s he rose to fame as frontman for Rage Against the Machine, and used that pedestal as a catalyst to further his left-wing political beliefs. To understand the motives for de la Rocha's vocal stylings, one must first trace back his philosophical roots. His story begins in Irvine, CA, during the '70s and '90s, with de la Rocha growing up as a Hispanic youth in one of the most ethnically white areas of California. His mother was an anthropology Ph.D. and his father, Belo de la Rocha, was a well-known muralist, famous for his paintings of Zapatista farmers. His parents separated at an early age and Zack split his time between his two parents. When Zack was 13 years old, his father had a nervous breakdown and subjected his son to extreme religious asceticism. Soon, he could no longer cope with his father's fanaticism and chose to move in with his mother full-time.