Zack de la Rocha and Tom Morello formed Rage Against the Machine after the breakup of de la Rocha's previous hardcore band Inside Out. Morello describes exactly what "machine" they are raging against: "The machine can be anything from the police in the streets in Los Angeles who can tear motorists from their car and beat them to a pulp and get away from it, to the overall international state capitalist machinery that tries to make you just a mindless cog, and not to think critically and never confront the system." The music, known as the most popular crossover between "rock and rap," sprouted from Zack's interest in early hip-hop outfits like Public Enemy, and KRS-One, as well as his hardcore roots. Tom Morello's appreciation for hard rock and punk like Black Sabbath and the Sex Pistols accounts for the band's hard-edged sound, while Tim Commerford's interest in jazz and Brad Wilk's unique hip-hop to punk oriented drum beats round out the band's sound.