Ronnie James Dio (born Ronald James Padavona; July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010) was an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. He performed with Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser Hear ‘n Aid. He was widely hailed as one of the most powerful singers in heavy metal,^[1] renowned for his consistently powerful voice and for popularizing the “devil’s horns” hand gesture in metal culture. He was collaborating on a project with former Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice, under the moniker Heaven & Hell, whose first and only studio album, The Devil You Know, was released on April 28, 2009.^[2] He died of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010.

Chuck D and DJ Spooky have reworked the classic Public Enemy track “By The Time I Get To Arizona” (download here) as a response to Republican Governor Jan Brewer’s anti-immigrant law. It’s only fitting, given that so many have invoked the song in recent weeks as a flashback to another dark time in Arizona’s not-so-distant past — the state’s refusal to recognize the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday back in 1990. Here’s what DJ Spooky has to say about the song and Governor Brewer:

“In the wake of Republican Governor Jan Brewer’s anti-immigrant law, me and Chuck D were rappin’ and we decided to put together an update of his classic track “By The Time I get To Arizona.” Anyone who knows about hip hop from the early 90’s remembers John Mccain’s unwillingness to endorse creating a local version of Martin Luther King’s birthday. The update here is a 21st century look in the rear view mirror. The cliché that “those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it” still holds sway in our hyper amnesiac culture. I remixed D.W. Griffith’s infamous film “Birth of a Nation” with a bit of Public Enemy in mind, and later on, they named an e.p. with the same name as my project. Me and Chuck D have done several projects in the past around progressive, non knucklehead hip hop.” (via Reality Sandwich)

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