Formed in 2016, the group consisted of three members of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave (bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello, and drummer Brad Wilk), two members of Public Enemy (DJ Lord and rapper Chuck D), and rapper B-Real of Cypress Hill.

"[4] The band's name derives from the title of the Public Enemy song "Prophets of Rage" from its 1988 album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.

To coincide with the band's protest performance at the Republican National Convention, it released its debut single, titled "Prophets of Rage".

On June 1, 2017, the band released a single with accompanying music video for the track "Unfuck the World" from their album Prophets of Rage.

[9] Due to M. Shadows becoming ill with a viral infection that rendered him voiceless, the "End of the World" tour was ultimately cancelled before it could begin.