In a moment that feels like music history being rewritten, the sons of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr have joined forces to release a new track titled “Rip Off.” While it might sound like a novelty headline, this collaboration is very real and already making waves in the music world.
Who Are the Next-Gen Beatles?
Let’s break down who’s involved:
- Sean Ono Lennon (son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono): A singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with a psychedelic, experimental edge.
- James McCartney (son of Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney): A melodic songwriter with a quiet intensity, often echoing his father’s soft rock sensibility.
- Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr): A powerhouse drummer who’s played with Oasis, The Who, and more—and doesn’t lean on his dad’s legacy one bit.
Together, they’ve combined their unique styles into something raw, alternative, and surprisingly bold. The track, “Rip Off,” was released under Zak’s current band Mantra of the Cosmos, which leans towards psychedelic rock and electronic fusion.
Why This Matters
For decades, fans have speculated whether the children of The Beatles would ever come together musically. It’s been the stuff of internet dreams and Reddit threads. Now, it’s actually happened.
And rather than sounding like a tribute band, this track has its own sound. It carries a grit and swagger that reflects the modern day, not the 60s. There are definitely echoes of their fathers in the DNA—Lennon’s surrealism, McCartney’s melody, Starr’s beat—but this isn’t a cover act. This is their voice.
About the Song: “Rip Off”
The track isn’t polished pop. It’s edgy, grungy, with distorted vocals and a hypnotic rhythm. It sounds more like The Velvet Underground mixed with early Radiohead than any Beatles track. It’s raw, it’s imperfect, and that’s kind of the point. It makes you listen. And it gets stuck in your head.
The lyrics seem to poke at the music industry, at expectations, and at the shadow of their lineage. It feels like they’re saying, “Yes, we know who our dads are—now let us show you who we are.”
There’s something poetic about seeing this generation come together. They didn’t just grow up with guitars in their hands—they grew up watching the world idolise their fathers. And yet, instead of living in their shadows, they’ve spent years quietly building their own voices. This release doesn’t feel like a media stunt or nostalgia grab. It feels more like three artists finally deciding, “Let’s see what happens if we lock in and make something honest.”
Some fans will love “Rip Off” instantly. Others might be confused by how far it strays from the Beatles’ signature sound. But that’s kind of the point. They’re not trying to recreate the past. This is about creating something messy, human, and now. And that rawness has power. The imperfections make it feel alive, like they’re tearing down the glossy myth and showing us the real underbelly of growing up famous.
What also makes this release so compelling is that it’s not clean or overproduced. You can feel the dirt under its nails. It sounds like something recorded in a basement with too many wires and not enough sleep. And that’s a compliment. In a world of AI vocals and sterile pop, this feels like a punch in the gut from a garage somewhere in 1994.
There’s a kind of tension in the song that feels unfiltered. You can almost hear them wrestling with legacy, pressure, identity. It’s not just a jam—it’s a statement. And even if they never release another song together, “Rip Off” proves that they’re not afraid to experiment, to be uncomfortable, to create outside of what’s expected.
No matter what happens next, this moment will go down as something special. Beatles fans are known for being fiercely protective of the original four, but there’s space in the story for their children to write new chapters. This isn’t about replacing anything. It’s about adding to the bigger story, from a fresh angle, with scars and truth and distortion in the mix.
The Legacy Lives On, But On Their Terms
This isn’t the launch of a new Beatles. And it shouldn’t be. But it is the beginning of something intriguing. Whether it leads to an album or more collaborations remains to be seen. But even if “Rip Off” stands alone, it marks a huge cultural moment: the first time direct Beatles bloodlines have created something together and shared it with the world.
And more importantly? It doesn’t suck. It actually rocks.
Final Thoughts
Music fans will forever cherish what the Beatles gave us. But this new track shows there’s still more to hear from the Lennon-McCartney-Starr bloodline. Not as a rehash. But as a continuation, with its own voice, its own grit, and its own shot at greatness.
Check out “Rip Off” if you haven’t already. It’s weird. It’s loud. It’s honest. And it just might be the beginning of something beautiful.
