Zacarias (Zack) De La Rocha, the angry yet intellectual singer, was born in Long Beach, California in 1970. He was raised in Irvine by his mother. Zack's first major band was called Inside Out. This band is where he began to, as he puts it "channel all my pain...and not bow down to a system that sees you as just another pebble on a beach." Zack was aware of the social injustices around him, and he wanted to express that. Zack's parents separated when he was at the age of one, his mother living in Irvine, with Zack, and his father living in Lincoln Heights. Zack's father, Beto De La Rocha, was a member of a Chicano art collective, named the Los Four. Beto suffered from a major mental breakdown, and became obsessively religious, fasting, and locking himself inside the house for weeks at a time. When Zack visited, Beto would force him to fast as well. This was very overwhelming for Zack, and he began to distance himself from his father. Zack then stayed full-time with his mother, a pH.D. in Anthropology, living in a very white community in southern LA. Being a Chicano in this community was very hard for Zack. Zack became aware of the ignorance around him, and stayed far away from it. He began listening to influential music, including the Sex Pistols, Bad Religion, and eventually some rap artists. Zack also organized trips with students to visit the Chiapas to arouse awareness among the youth. Zack then formed Inside Out, and eventually Rage Against The Machine.