The Coup Albums (5)
What The Critics Say
The heyday of Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions was over by the time the Coup released their incendiary debut album Kill My Landlord. Gangsta hedonism had replaced black-power politics as the hip-hop menace du jour, and that's perhaps the only reason this revolution-minded outfit failed to become the controversial boogeymen they seem tailor-made to be. Unabashedly Marxist (the first line on the album is "Presto, read the Communist Manifesto..."), the Coup takes political rap to a whole new level of intelligence, attacking not only racism but also the economic and class factors that keep African-Americans oppressed. Much of Kill My Landlord is fiercely polemical, but to the group's credit, it sounds too invigorating to resemble the hour-long lecture it could easily have been. There's a palpable sense of glee at some of the more transgressive statements: the album-opening one-two punch of "Dig It!" and "Not Yet Free," the pro-L.A. riot "The Coup," the anti-police brutality "I Know You." Kill My Landlord doesn't have as much of the wry humor or storytelling that would enrich later releases, but it is in evidence: "Last Blunt" is told from the perspective of a stoner who wants to quit, but can't face the pressure of a tough everyday life. Lead rapper Boots Riley sprinkles his rhetoric with clever wordplay, declaiming in a deadpan baritone that resembles an eerily calm Chuck D. He's supported by a bed of thick, loping Oakland funk that blends vintage soul samples (courtesy of DJ Pam the Funkstress) with live instrumentation. Parts of the album are somewhat underdeveloped musically (especially over the second half), which means that it isn't quite as consistent as its successors. But the high points are brilliant, making Kill My Landlord well worth the hunt for Coup fans. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
'Pick a Bigger Weapon'
Release Date 4/24/2006
Tracks 17
Label Epitaph
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
If you look hard enough at the cover of Pick a Bigger Weapon, you can see dangling legs through a hole in the wall of a ransacked Omnimart corporate office. DJ Pam "The Funkstress"' holds a bat, Boots Riley holds a pen, and bottles of a product called Ass-Breath Killer are on a desk and the ground. It's evident that this cover isn't likely to put them in hot water, like the original cover of Party Music did almost five years prior, unless someone prominent and silly finds the legs shocking. The Coup's long-standing balance between humor and righteous anger remains on this, their fifth album, and they still deliver the laughs and rants over juiced synth-funk. This time out, they use the band format more than before, with the likes of Audioslave's Tom Morello, Tony! Toni! Toné!'s D'Wayne Wiggins, and a few funk vets chipping in on occasion. The album's press sheet draws comparisons to Prince's Dirty Mind and Too Short, and while that's not inaccurate, the references could just as easily be Digital Underground, Paris, Above the Law, E-40, late-'70s Parliament/Funkadelic, any previous Coup album, or just about any other funk-steeped rap album that has come from the West Coast. Nursery rhyme-style choruses like "Bush and Hussein together in bed, giving H-E-A-D head/Y'all muthaf*ckas heard what we said/Billions made and millions dead" will get some attention, while complex verses that are not as easy to digest (or quote) will not. Boots is as lyrically pointed as ever, dropping dozens of resonant rhymes that rail and educate, and he's even better when he punctuates his messages with humor, as he does in a faux-uppity voice on "We Are the Ones": "The one university I knew was Yale, so I cooked it, bagged it, put it on sale/Now, philosophically, you'd be opposed to one inhaling coke by the mouth or nose/But, economically, I would propose that you go eat a dick as employment had froze." Even "Ass-Breath Killers" has a much deeper meaning than the title indicates -- ass breath comes from kissing ass, and if you use the product, you'll grow a spine and maybe die for speaking your mind. Some fans might hastily skip past the sleazy romantic interludes ("Ijuswannalay..." seems to exist only to segue smoothly into "Head"), but the album is perfectly capable of rattling trunks and energizing activists. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The Coup finally attracted some publicity with their fourth album, Party Music, though it was for unfortunate reasons. The original cover, completed in June 2001, depicted Boots and Pam in front of an exploding World Trade Center, with Boots pushing the button on a detonator. Luckily, the album wasn't scheduled for release until after September 11, and the artwork was hastily withdrawn; nonetheless, it made the rounds on the Internet, and even briefly drew the attention of the FBI. Even if the image is now too provocative and emotionally charged, its anti-capitalist symbolism is appropriate for the album's contents, which mark a return to the often militant tone of the Coup's early work. Album opener "Everythang," "Ghetto Manifesto," and "Ride the Fence" are all rousing calls to action, and fellow left-wing populists Dead Prez make a guest appearance on "Get Up." There's also some of the pointed satire of Genocide & Juice -- Boots makes "5 Million Ways to Kill a C.E.O." sound like a new dance craze, and there are some broad, "Pimps"-like stereotypes of rich folks on "Lazymuthafucka" (though they're intended as an antidote to even broader stereotypes of poor people). But Boots doesn't abandon the sensitive storytelling of Steal This Album either. "Wear Clean Draws" advises his young daughter on how to grow up strong in a harsh world, and "Nowalaters" is another stunning, emotionally complex story-song about a young man nearly duped into taking responsibility for a child that isn't his. Musically, Boots' production is the fullest the Coup has ever had on record, making heavy use of live instruments in creating a warm, organic re-creation of late-'70s synth funk. Other than that, Party Music doesn't really break much new ground for the Coup; it's more a consolidation of their strengths, touching on a little bit of everything they've done well in the past. Hopefully, it will stay in print longer than their first three records. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Steal This Album is the Coup's masterstroke, taking the advances of Genocide & Juice to the next level and coming up with one of the most underappreciated hip-hop albums of the '90s. Down to a duo, the Coup officially becomes a vehicle for Boots Riley's observations, which it mostly was already; still, there's a greater focus simply from the fact that it's a product of one ambitious vision. Boots' impassioned political rhetoric is still in full force, but the main strengths of Steal This Album are its fleshed-out characters and witty, detailed, image-rich storytelling that would do Slick Rick proud. Its intellectual and emotional depth comes from Boots finding the humanity not only in his ideology, but in a much-maligned class of people, articulating their frustrations and analyzing the world they live in from both the inside and outside. His flair for the dramatic reaches its apex on the seven-minute saga "Me and Jesus the Pimp in a '79 Granada Last Night." It's a complex, cinematic story about a young man who loathes his father -- an abusive pimp who eventually beats his mother to death -- but can't help internalizing some of the same behavior. Equally touching is "Underdogs," a heartbreaking account of the everyday reality of poverty. Boots' ironic wit is all over the rest of the record. The dark-humored "Breathing Apparatus" finds a gunshot victim with no health insurance pleading with his friend not to let doctors pull the plug. Elsewhere, the previous album's Repo Man returns (in the person of Del tha Funkee Homosapien) on "The Repo Man Sings for You"; and Boots acts out a gleefully provocative fantasy (on record, anyway) with "Piss on Your Grave," which concerns slave owner George Washington. The whole album is strikingly consistent, managing to be smart, funny, touching, and funky all at once; it's nothing short of brilliant. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
A subtler and more fully realized effort than the debut, Genocide & Juice finds the Coup truly coming into their own, refining their mix of revolutionary politics and easy-rolling funk into some of the best political hip-hop ever put to wax. The main difference here is a richly developed cast of characters, as Boots and E-Roc put human faces on their beliefs, and paint sympathetic portraits of working-class African-Americans struggling to make ends meet any way they can, often stuck with little education and fewer options. Socialist ideology is rarely far from the surface, but because of the way it's presented, it seems just as logical in context as opposing racism. The opening three songs are intertwined together, and mark a quantum leap in the group's sophistication. "Fat Cats, Bigga Fish" introduces a small-time hustler scraping together a living; along with his cousin, he infiltrates a party for corporate fat cats, who happen to enjoy imitating rappers, and drop freestyles about their abuses of power on the screamingly funny "Pimps." Finally, on "Takin' These," the two hustlers rob the party blind, Robin Hood-style, chanting a chorus lifted from Lady and the Tramp's "The Siamese Cat Song." Just in itself, that trio is a tour de force, displaying a sharp satirical instinct that's rare in any form. Although there are a few missteps, the remainder of the album is more consistent than Kill My Landlord, which fell prey to some sleepy beats at times. "The Name Game" makes the point that a few famous rappers don't amount to much when there's no broad economic base to help average African-Americans improve their lives. Another highlight is "Repo Man," a bitter yet catchy complaint that's not just about the villainous title character, but also the circumstances that make him necessary. All in all, Genocide & Juice is an enormously sophisticated work that the Coup would only go on to better the next time out. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
