The Coup
Encyclopedia
The Coup is a political hip hop
group based in Oakland, California
. It formed as a three-member group in 1992 with emcees Raymond "Boots" Riley
and E-Roc along with DJ Pam the Funkstress. E-Roc left on amicable terms after the group's second album but appears on the track "Breathing Apparatus" on The Coup's third album, Steal This Album. The group is now a duo.
, is politically Marxist in its music and aligns itself with other radical hip-hop groups such as Dead Prez
. The group's music is characterized by electronic sounds and bass
-driven backbeat
s overlaid by humorous, cynical and sometimes violent lyrics criticizing capitalism
, American politics
, patriarchal exploitation, and police brutality
, among other things.
The Coup's debut album was 1993's Kill My Landlord
. In 1994, the group released its second album, Genocide and Juice. After a four-year recording hiatus, the group released the critically acclaimed Steal This Album in 1998, the title of which was reminiscent of yippie Abbie Hoffman
's Steal this Book
. The album featured the stand-out single "Me and Jesus the Pimp in a ’79 Granada Last Night." The online magazine Dusted called Steal This Album "the best hip-hop album of the 1990s".
In 2001, The Coup released Party Music
to widespread praise. However, in part because of distribution problems, sales of the album were low. The original album cover art depicted group members Pam the Funkstress and Riley standing in front of the twin towers of the World Trade Center
as they are destroyed by huge explosions, and Riley is pushing the button on a guitar tuner. The cover art was finished in June 2001 and the album was scheduled to be released in mid-September. However, in response to the uncanny similarity of the artwork with the September 11, 2001, attacks, the album release was held back until alternative cover art could be prepared.
The attention generated concerning the album's cover art precipitated some criticism of the group's lyrical content as well, particularly the Party Music track "5 Million Ways to Kill a CEO." The song's lyrics includes lines such as "You could throw a twenty in a vat of hot oil/When he jump in after it, watch him boil." Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin
cited the song in calling the Coup's work a "stomach-turning example of anti-Americanism disguised as highbrow intellectual expression."
On 15 November 2005, Tarus Jackson (AKA Terrance), who had joined the group as a promoter, was fatally shot during a robbery at his home in Oakland.
2 December 2006 saw another tragedy for the Coup: About two hours following a performance at the San Diego House of Blues
, the tour bus in which the group was riding drove off the road and flipped over before becoming engulfed in flames. All passengers managed to climb out alive, although some were badly injured. The group did, however, lose all of its clothes, computers, cash, identification, house/car keys, cell phones, all of its instruments, and sound equipment. Since an insurance settlement was a long time coming, the group was forced to cancel the rest of its tour.
The group’s songs "My Favorite Mutiny" and "Pork & Beef" were featured in the 2007 film Superbad, with the former also being featured in the video game NBA Live 07, while "Ride the Fence" was featured in EA
's 2007 skateboarding
video game Skate
. The song “Captain Sterling’s Little Problem” accompanied the closing credits of Sir, No, Sir, a documentary about the GI anti-war movement.
Boots has confirmed that The Coup's sixth album, a concept album
entitled Sorry to Bother You, will be released in late 2011 or early 2012. The album will double as the soundtrack to an independent feature film of the same title, written by and starring Boots, which will be "a dark comedy with magical realism" and will draw inspiration from his time spent working as a telemarketer. An additional EP
may be released as early as September.
In July 2002, Riley was a guest on Bill Maher
's Politically Incorrect
and repeatedly referred to himself as a communist. Maher criticized him by saying that communists don't sell records.
Riley was charged with abusive language for allegedly using profanity on stage while performing with the band Galactic in Downtown Norfolk, Virginia
, in the city's annual Bayou Boogaloo Festival at Town Point Park
in June 2008. This was a result of controversy that started a few weeks prior in the same park when, at a different festival, singer Ray-J used inappropriate language. Riley's charge only carried a small fine. However, the American Civil Liberties Union
decided to help him fight it on free speech grounds before the charge was ultimately dismissed by the city shortly thereafter.
During Tom Morello's
Fall 2008 tour as the Nightwatchman
, Riley appeared on selected dates, and the two debuted a song from an upcoming project called Street Sweeper Social Club
. In March 2009, a Web site appeared at the url streetsweepermusic.com, which debuted its first single "Fight! Smash! Win!" It was also announced that the band would be the opening act on the upcoming tour with Nine Inch Nails
and Jane's Addiction
.
Raymond "Boots" Riley is also an active political/social organizer and speaker. He has been know to work with eviltwinbooking.org and speakoutnow.org, among other groups.
, Pam does not tour with the Coup. Instead, Boots performs with a three-man band.
Political hip hop
Political hip hop is a sub-genre of hip hop music that developed in the 1980s. Inspired by 1970s political preachers such as The Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron, Public Enemy were the first political hip hop group...
group based in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. It formed as a three-member group in 1992 with emcees Raymond "Boots" Riley
Boots Riley
Boots Riley is an American musician, vocalist, writer, and public speaker most known for being the front man and producer of The Coup as well as the front man for Street Sweeper Social Club.-Biography:...
and E-Roc along with DJ Pam the Funkstress. E-Roc left on amicable terms after the group's second album but appears on the track "Breathing Apparatus" on The Coup's third album, Steal This Album. The group is now a duo.
History
The Coup, part of the sub-genre of political hip hopPolitical hip hop
Political hip hop is a sub-genre of hip hop music that developed in the 1980s. Inspired by 1970s political preachers such as The Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron, Public Enemy were the first political hip hop group...
, is politically Marxist in its music and aligns itself with other radical hip-hop groups such as Dead Prez
Dead Prez
Dead Prez stylized as dead prez is a hip hop duo from the United States, composed of stic.man and M-1, formed in 1996 in New York City, New York. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with socialist lyrics focused on both militant social justice and Pan-Africanism...
. The group's music is characterized by electronic sounds and bass
Bass drum
Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
-driven backbeat
Beat (music)
The beat is the basic unit of time in music, the pulse of the mensural level . In popular use, the beat can refer to a variety of related concepts including: tempo, meter, rhythm and groove...
s overlaid by humorous, cynical and sometimes violent lyrics criticizing capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, American politics
American politics
American politics is an area of study within the academic discipline of political science. It is primarily, but not exclusively, studied by researchers in the United States...
, patriarchal exploitation, and police brutality
Police brutality
Police brutality is the intentional use of excessive force, usually physical, but potentially also in the form of verbal attacks and psychological intimidation, by a police officer....
, among other things.
The Coup's debut album was 1993's Kill My Landlord
Kill My Landlord
Kill My Landlord is the debut album by political hip hop group the Coup, released May 4, 1993 on Wild Pitch Records. Group leader Boots Riley provides all production and lead vocals, DJ Pam the Funkstress provides scratches, and E-Roc provides backup vocals. Kill My Landlord features the singles...
. In 1994, the group released its second album, Genocide and Juice. After a four-year recording hiatus, the group released the critically acclaimed Steal This Album in 1998, the title of which was reminiscent of yippie Abbie Hoffman
Abbie Hoffman
Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman was a political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ....
's Steal this Book
Steal This Book
-Advice on dissidence:The book includes advice on such topics as growing cannabis, starting a pirate radio station, living in a commune, stealing food, shoplifting, stealing credit cards, preparing a legal defense, making pipe bombs, and obtaining a free buffalo from the Department of the Interior...
. The album featured the stand-out single "Me and Jesus the Pimp in a ’79 Granada Last Night." The online magazine Dusted called Steal This Album "the best hip-hop album of the 1990s".
In 2001, The Coup released Party Music
Party Music
Party Music is the fourth studio album by The Coup, an alternative hip hop group based in Oakland, California.The album was originally released by 75 Ark Records and has since been re-released by Epitaph Records after the group's signing in 2004....
to widespread praise. However, in part because of distribution problems, sales of the album were low. The original album cover art depicted group members Pam the Funkstress and Riley standing in front of the twin towers of the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
as they are destroyed by huge explosions, and Riley is pushing the button on a guitar tuner. The cover art was finished in June 2001 and the album was scheduled to be released in mid-September. However, in response to the uncanny similarity of the artwork with the September 11, 2001, attacks, the album release was held back until alternative cover art could be prepared.
The attention generated concerning the album's cover art precipitated some criticism of the group's lyrical content as well, particularly the Party Music track "5 Million Ways to Kill a CEO." The song's lyrics includes lines such as "You could throw a twenty in a vat of hot oil/When he jump in after it, watch him boil." Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin
Michelle Malkin
Michelle Malkin is an American conservative blogger, political commentator, and author. Her weekly syndicated column appears in a number of newspapers and websites. She is a Fox News Channel contributor and has been a guest on MSNBC, C-SPAN, and national radio programs...
cited the song in calling the Coup's work a "stomach-turning example of anti-Americanism disguised as highbrow intellectual expression."
On 15 November 2005, Tarus Jackson (AKA Terrance), who had joined the group as a promoter, was fatally shot during a robbery at his home in Oakland.
2 December 2006 saw another tragedy for the Coup: About two hours following a performance at the San Diego House of Blues
House of Blues
House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
, the tour bus in which the group was riding drove off the road and flipped over before becoming engulfed in flames. All passengers managed to climb out alive, although some were badly injured. The group did, however, lose all of its clothes, computers, cash, identification, house/car keys, cell phones, all of its instruments, and sound equipment. Since an insurance settlement was a long time coming, the group was forced to cancel the rest of its tour.
The group’s songs "My Favorite Mutiny" and "Pork & Beef" were featured in the 2007 film Superbad, with the former also being featured in the video game NBA Live 07, while "Ride the Fence" was featured in EA
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
's 2007 skateboarding
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...
video game Skate
Skate (video game)
Skate is a skateboarding video game developed by EA Black Box for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It was released in North America on September 17, 2007 for the Xbox 360 and September 24, 2007 for the PlayStation 3 and in Europe on September 28, 2007 for the Xbox 360 and October 5, 2007 for the...
. The song “Captain Sterling’s Little Problem” accompanied the closing credits of Sir, No, Sir, a documentary about the GI anti-war movement.
Boots has confirmed that The Coup's sixth album, a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
entitled Sorry to Bother You, will be released in late 2011 or early 2012. The album will double as the soundtrack to an independent feature film of the same title, written by and starring Boots, which will be "a dark comedy with magical realism" and will draw inspiration from his time spent working as a telemarketer. An additional EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
may be released as early as September.
Boots Riley
In 1991, he and other artists founded the Mau Mau Rhythm Collective, a group set up to use the power of hip hop music to publicize other efforts and movements. The next year, Riley founded The Coup.In July 2002, Riley was a guest on Bill Maher
Bill Maher
William "Bill" Maher, Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and...
's Politically Incorrect
Politically Incorrect
Politically Incorrect is a late-night, half-hour political talk show hosted by Bill Maher that ran from 1993 to 2002. It premiered on Comedy Central from 1993 to 1997, and later on ABC in 1997, which cancelled it in 2002....
and repeatedly referred to himself as a communist. Maher criticized him by saying that communists don't sell records.
Riley was charged with abusive language for allegedly using profanity on stage while performing with the band Galactic in Downtown Norfolk, Virginia
Downtown Norfolk, Virginia
As the traditional center of shipping and port activities in the Hampton Roads region, Norfolk, Virginia's downtown waterfront historically played host to numerous and often noxious port and shipping-related uses...
, in the city's annual Bayou Boogaloo Festival at Town Point Park
Town Point Park
.Town Point Park is a waterfront city park on the Elizabeth River in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. The park hosts many annual festivals, 4th of July fireworks and outdoor music performances.Located in the park are The Homecoming and the Armed Forces Memorial....
in June 2008. This was a result of controversy that started a few weeks prior in the same park when, at a different festival, singer Ray-J used inappropriate language. Riley's charge only carried a small fine. However, the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
decided to help him fight it on free speech grounds before the charge was ultimately dismissed by the city shortly thereafter.
During Tom Morello's
Tom Morello
Thomas Baptiste "Tom" Morello is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist best known for his tenure with the bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, his acoustic solo act The Nightwatchman, and his newest group, Street Sweeper Social Club...
Fall 2008 tour as the Nightwatchman
The Nightwatchman
The Nightwatchman is the alter-ego and solo act of Rage Against the Machine, Street Sweeper Social Club and former Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello...
, Riley appeared on selected dates, and the two debuted a song from an upcoming project called Street Sweeper Social Club
Street Sweeper Social Club
Street Sweeper Social Club is an American Rap Rock supergroup, formed in Los Angeles, California in 2006. The band primarily consists of guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and vocalist/emcee Boots Riley of The Coup. The band has been testing songs out during Tom Morello's...
. In March 2009, a Web site appeared at the url streetsweepermusic.com, which debuted its first single "Fight! Smash! Win!" It was also announced that the band would be the opening act on the upcoming tour with Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
and Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band's original line-up featured Perry Farrell , Dave Navarro , Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins . After breaking up in 1991, Jane's Addiction briefly reunited in 1997 and again in 2001, both times...
.
Raymond "Boots" Riley is also an active political/social organizer and speaker. He has been know to work with eviltwinbooking.org and speakoutnow.org, among other groups.
Pam the Funkstress
Pam the Funkstress was a student of the late DJ Prince of Charm. In addition to DJing, she owns and operates a successful catering business in Northern California. As of the 2006 tour promoting Pick a Bigger WeaponPick a Bigger Weapon
Pick a Bigger Weapon is the fifth studio album by American rap group The Coup, released April 25, 2006 on Epitaph Records. Rolling Stone included the album at 49 in its list of the top 50 albums of 2006...
, Pam does not tour with the Coup. Instead, Boots performs with a three-man band.
Discography
| Album information |
|---|
| Kill My Landlord Kill My Landlord Kill My Landlord is the debut album by political hip hop group the Coup, released May 4, 1993 on Wild Pitch Records. Group leader Boots Riley provides all production and lead vocals, DJ Pam the Funkstress provides scratches, and E-Roc provides backup vocals. Kill My Landlord features the singles...
|
| Genocide & Juice Genocide & Juice Genocide & Juice is the second studio album by Political hip hop group the Coup, which was released October 13, 1994, on Wild Pitch Records. The album is produced entirely by group leader Boots Riley, and features guest appearances from fellow West Coast hip hop artists Spice 1 and E-40... Wild Pitch Records Wild Pitch Records was a hip hop record label started in the mid 1980s by Stuart Fine and was eventually distributed by EMI and eventually acquired by Jay Faires, who tried to reactivate it as part of his short-lived JCOR Entertainment label... /EMI Records EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... |
| Steal This Album
|
| Party Music Party Music Party Music is the fourth studio album by The Coup, an alternative hip hop group based in Oakland, California.The album was originally released by 75 Ark Records and has since been re-released by Epitaph Records after the group's signing in 2004.... Warner Bros. Records Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies... |
| Steal This Double Album (Steal This Album re-release)
|
| Pick a Bigger Weapon Pick a Bigger Weapon Pick a Bigger Weapon is the fifth studio album by American rap group The Coup, released April 25, 2006 on Epitaph Records. Rolling Stone included the album at 49 in its list of the top 50 albums of 2006... ANTI- ANTI- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label of Epitaph Records.While Epitaph's focus has shifted over the last decade from mostly punk rock, nowadays ANTI- has a more diverse roster, ranging from country , hip hop , reggae , Soul , folk , rap-rock , indie rock... |
| Sorry to Bother You
|