Listmania: 20 Years of “Broke” from (hed)p.e.!

To celebrate 20 years of the seminal sophomore album “Broke” by (hed)p.e. which achieved that anniversary status last month, we’re going to answer a question we’ve seen appear in many forums and comment sections around the time of the release. So many people said they hadn’t heard any (hed)p.e. material since “Broke” and with the Huntington Beach Californian’s dropping 10 albums since, here are our five songs since that album that need to be heard!

1. “Renegade” from 2009’s “New World Orphans“. Not only is this cut an anthem for the oppressed or bullied but it is the most complete sounding record since “Broke“. Proving that you can make great records DIY, this one is an absolute banger building on the success of tracks like “Suffa” from the bands previous record “Insomnia“.
   
2. “Suffa” from 2007’s “Insomnia“. Voted into the top 10 tracks of 2007 by viewers of MTV’s Headbangers Ball, “Suffa” sees (hed)p.e. maintain that raw edge and DIY work ethic that served them so well on their previous trio of records, giving them a Hardcore Punk sound crossed with Hip-Hop and Reggae influences.
   
3. “No Rest For The Wicked” from 2010’s “Truth Rising“. The album as a whole has a great drum sound with Trauma making his debut on the kit and is rammed full of high octane tracks and solid riffs thanks to Jaxon Benge, for whom this marks the last album. He brought out more of the Hardcore Punk influence in the (hed)p.e. sound and this one has a claymation video that is absolute class, while the 9/11 Truth Movement inspired a lot of the lyrics on this one.
   
4. “Pay Me” from 2016’s “Forever!“. An album of two halves, part rap-rock aggression and part a reggae influenced ode to Jared Gomes wife, “Pay Me” is a live favorite among the minimum wage employees and sees the re-vamped line up proving that they have what it takes to deliver a heavy hitter following Jaxon’s departure with guitarist Greg “Gregzilla” Harrison and bassist Kurt “Kid Bass” Blankenship stepping up to the plate.
   
5. “Death Awaits” from 2020’s “Class of 2020“. The twelfth album in the bands career saw original guitarist Chad “chizad” Benekos for the first time in nearly two decades to play in the song “Greedy Girl” as well as DJ Product 1969 adding his touches to “Last Call“. According to Gomes, Product simply walked away from the band in 2013 with no explanation but it seems all is forgiven in 2020 with Product looking almost unrecognizable having shaved his head and got rid of his beard.