My Favorite Album: My Ruin Digs Into Paris and Rage

Tairrie B. Murphy and Mick Murphy of heavy alt metal and garage rock projects My Ruin and SWTEVL told us about their love for gems by Paris and Rage Against the Machine... Paris Safe Space Invader (Guerrilla Funk Store) Tairrie B. Murphy: Being asked to opine on my favorite album is no easy task. My musical tastes these days lean heavily toward raw, rebellious, guitar-driven artists. I find myself immersed in a steady diet of swaggering garage rock, punk attitude and blues-soaked riffs like The Hives, Jack White, Jon Spencer & Bass Drum Of Death to the British alt-rock of newcomers Call To The Void, whose killer debut EP, The Power Of Intention, I'm proud to be a part of. However, when it comes to hip-hop—my other great love outside the rock realm—fearless lyrical content is something sadly absent from much of the modern landscape. While some albums entertain, others educate. Every so often, one reminds you of what hip-hop was built to do. Safe Space Invader from Oakland-based, street-smart, socially conscious rap artist PARIS is one of those records. Released at a time when the world was grappling with political division, protests, and uncertainty, it felt less like an album and more like a dispatch from the front lines. I listened to it religiously before, during, and after the 2020 election—and throughout the nightmare that followed us into 2024 and frighteningly, where we find ourselves today. It became my cathartic therapy. And it still is. PARIS and I both released our first rap albums in 1990: his landmark The Devil Made Me Do It on Scarface Records via Tommy Boy, and my own trailblazing The Power Of A Woman on Comptown/Ruthless Records via MCA. In retrospect, we couldn't have been more different lyrically back then. Today, as a 61-year-old radical left rapper and forever metal screamer, I find myself relating to his music and worldview in much the same way I relate to my own. I feel it. PARIS remains one of hip-hop's most uncompromising political voices. Unlike artists who softened their message with age, he's doubled down. He writes, produces, directs, and controls his own work, giving both the album and its accompanying videos a singular sound and vision. Safe Space Invader sounds unmistakably like classic PARIS without ever feeling nostalgic or dated. Thick, sick, funk-driven West Coast grooves. Minimal but heavy drums with cinematic arrangements. Every beat serves the lyrics instead of distracting from them. The album feels contemporary while carrying echoes of Bomb Squad-style density and G-funk atmosphere, all filtered through his own unique, unmistakable signature Guerilla Funk at its finest flavor. From questioning performative unity to examining policing and systemic power, while celebrating Black empowerment and offering resilience amid chaos, this album—like the one before it—reminded me that hip-hop can still challenge its listeners. It never sacrifices musicianship for its message. It rewards repeated listens and refuses to bend the knee. More importantly, it proves there are still a handful of truly independent OG artists capable of creating work with real impact while keeping their integrity intact. Safe Space Invader isn't simply a protest record. It's a reminder that hip-hop has always been at its strongest when it delivers uncomfortable hard truths over old-school, heavy-as-fuck beats. In an era where outrage often feels theatrical or contrived, PARIS delivered something far more artistically enduring: conviction. That’s why this album remains one I return to constantly for inspiration in both my art and activism. Not just because of what it says about America, but because of what it says about the responsibility artists have to speak truth to power when it matters most. Back in 2020, I cited Pistol Politics as one of my favorite PARIS albums in another publication—coincidentally for the same editor. Later that year, he released Safe Space Invader, somehow managing to raise the bar once again. It felt like the album that moment demanded. Unflinching, resolute & necessary. Since then, PARIS has been noticeably quiet, and that silence has been unexpected. As someone who also believes art can be a vehicle for resistance, I've missed his voice. With Donald Trump back in the White House for a second term, the need for formidable lyricists and uncompromising artists hasn't diminished—it has only grown. Hip-hop has always been at its most vital when it challenges power, confronts injustice, and gives voice to those unwilling to accept the status quo. Few artists have embodied that mission more consistently than PARIS. For me, Safe Space Invader remains as urgent today as it was upon its release. But perhaps what's most remarkable is that it doesn't simply sound current—it sounds revolutionary. If there was ever a moment for PARIS to return, this is it. His music has never merely reflected resistance; it has provided its soundtrack. All power to the people. Respect the architects. Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (Epic) Mick Murphy: As a life-long lover of rock, it is impossible to choose one favorite album. I have a lot of favorites, for different memories, moods & reasons. Universally speaking from my generation… Jimi Hendrix & Jeff Beck were Gods. Kiss was the “hottest band in the land”. Edward Van Halen was a wizard, Deep Purple ruled, Led Zeppelin was the greatest band of all time & nothing heavy will ever top the 1st Black Sabbath album. These are just the facts. From there, music exploded into all kinds of different sub genres that I really enjoyed growing up. Bands started mixing things together in new ways, like punk/heavy metal, jazz/art rock, politics/hip hop, & rap/hard rock. The blending of all these genres led to the era that started happening in the early 90s… stuff like the badass record I’m focusing on here today… one of the greatest debuts of all time… Rage Against The Machine’s self-titled album. When RATM first dropped, it kind of blew everyone away. Much like the image of the Buddhist monk self-immolating on the album cover, it captured the sound of a band setting itself on fire in protest. It exuded urgency & focused on subject matter that was based in reality & delivered intelligently, with natural charisma, Gen X sarcasm & a deep wicked groove. You could feel the activism of the 60s, the rock of the 70s & the political hip hop of the 80s all over it… all mashed together brilliantly. Brutally simple, yet sophisticated & dynamic. It just plain hit hard. It still does. It has classic rock riffs, unique solos, big ass bass lines & solid thumping back beats, all topped off with raw emotive powerful vocals. Zack de la Rocha comes out swinging hard & does it with finesse, passion & conviction. Everyone fills their roles in the band perfectly, while maintaining identifiable individuality at the same time. Much like Zack, you can tell it’s Tom Morello on guitar, Tim C on bass & Brad Wilk on drums, just by hearing them. The opener, “Bombtrack” starts with a quiet roll, then “it goes a 1, 2, 3,” & it kicks off the record with a fervor & a slinky strut. The band’s intentions are set right off the bat…“burn, burn, yes you’re gonna burn!”. “Killing In The Name” proclaims some hard truths…“some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses”, confronting racism & brutality in law enforcement… & then it goes on to repeat “fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me”… a defiant chant for the ages. “Bullet In The Head” is a clever take on corporate media propaganda & mind control. “Just victims of the in-house drive-by. They say jump, you say how high?” Musically, it builds & grows into some truly lethal outro jams to help convey the disdain… “ya got a bullet in ya fuckin’ head! YEAH!” The album closer, “Freedom” hits like a punch in the face & it goes from there. Boasting one of the strongest guitar riffs of the ‘90s, it’s a Bonafide ass kicker. The perfect exclamation point for RATM’s original mission statement. “Freedom, yeah! Freedom, yeah right!” In these times of turmoil, with the disturbing continued rise of authoritarianism in America, this album remains undeniably relevant & deeply resonant, decades after its release. It still delivers the goods. A worthy “favorite album”. My Ruin released a protest record earlier this year called Declaration Of Resistance. It is very much in the spirit of a band like RATM… speaking out against the Trump regime, and all the MAGA nonsense we’ve endured for the past decade. Cathartic resistance metal. My Ruin's Declaration of Resistance album is out now. The post My Favorite Album: My Ruin Digs Into Paris and Rage first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.