The Coup Recent News

Boots Announces CoupTV And Joins Galactic On Tour

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 00:10:00 -0700

THE COUP'S OUTSPOKEN MC JOINS GALACTIC FOR SIX WEEK U.S. TOUR

Boots Riley - The Coup's respected, outspoken MC - is pleased to announce the arrival of CoupTV, the group's very own You Tube channel. "We have launched a new way to bring you the fight, the funk, and the fury," Riley proclaimed. The channel can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/COUPTV.

Counting Coup-related music videos, live performances, interviews, video articles, and comedy bits, the channel also has clips that go into depth about music production and writing. According to Boots, "It will soon feature interviews, by me, of other artists as well as community and world figures. We will probably also have some sketch comedy - We had a bunch already filmed that got burned up in the bus crash last year [December 2006]. Who knows where it'll go from there?"

Always known for pushing limits - be it politically, spiritually or artistically - Boots Riley again stretches his musical boundaries on the latest album by New Orleans' modern funk outfit GALACTIC. In support of his appearance on "Hustle Up," a signature track from that outfit's Anti- debut From The Corner To The Block, Boots will share the stage with the group this fall for a five week trek. Launching in Flagstaff, AZ on October 11th, the tour wraps November 18th at the Paradise in Boston.

The Coup - steered by Oakland, CA-based Riley - was behind the thought-provoking Epitaph album Pick A Bigger Weapon. Released in April 2006, the group's fifth studio disc to date landed at or near the top of a number of critic's year-end lists that year and is now deemed a classic album of the hip-hop genre.

The Associated Press (#1), Rolling Stone (Top 50), Murder Dog (#2), The Chicago Tribune (#7), The Salt Lake Tribune (#4), The Onion AV Club (#8), and The Washington Post (#9) all bestowed their approval, with The Eastbay Express curiously dubbing it the "most wrathful rock album" of 2006.

Touted as "the best hip-hop act of the last decade" by Billboard, the New Yorker wrote "The Coup remains one of the rap world's great resources - fearless, fierce and funny as hell... a potent combination of leftist politics, revolutionary humanitarianism, and triumphant funk."

CoupTV is produced, directed, and edited by Vince Tocce. The graphic design and art direction are by Vince Tocce. "You get the picture," Riley explains. "Vince Tocce hooked this muthafucka up. If you check it out, you'll see that he's done one helluva job."

Check out CoupTV

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:09:00 -0700

The Coup has launched a new way to bring you the fight, the funk, and the fury. It'd called CoupTV.

Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/user/COUPTV

CoupTV is produced, directed, and edited by Vince Tocce. The graphic design and art direction are by Vince Tocce.

Right now, it's a YouTube channel that features Coup-related music videos, live performances, interviews, video articles, and comedy bits. It also has clips that go into depth about music production and writing. But soon, it will feature interviews, by Boots, of other artists as well as community and world figures. They will also have some sketch comedy.

You can also check out their MySpace site so you can stay up-to-date with
specifically CoupTV stuff. a href="http://myspace.com/coup">http://myspace.com/coup.

The Coup playing with Rage Against The Machine

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 00:08:00 -0700

The Coup will be playing with Queens of the Stoneage, and Rage Against the Machine at Alpine Valley Music Theater August 24! THIS FRIDAY.

Click on the link below for more details:
http://www.livenation.com/event/getEvent/eventId/284871

Boots Riley Withdraws Plans for Keynote Speech

Wed, 09 May 2007 00:05:00 -0700

BOOTS RILEY WITHDRAWS PLANS FOR KEYNOTE SPEECH AT SATURDAY'S UC BERKELEY'S BLACK GRADUATION
COMES OUT IN SUPPORT OF CUSTODIAN UNION'S FIGHT TO END POVERTY-LEVEL WAGES

Boots Riley - The Coup's admired, outspoken MC - has withdrawn plans to serve as the keynote speaker at UC Berkeley's Black Graduation Ceremony this Saturday (May 12th). In support of the University of California Custodians Union's year and a half long fight for higher wages, Riley announced today, "In solidarity with the Custodian's Union (AFSCME Local 3299), I will not be making the UC Berkeley 2007 Black Graduation commencement speech."

"Many ideas were talked about regarding how to show solidarity with and not get in the way of this fight," Riley explains. "Some said that I should use the opportunity to speak to the audience about the union's demands. However, being that the speaking theme I was given was 'Revolution: Command Change,' I feel the best way to embody this theme is not to give lip service to it, but to show that we must be involved in the struggles that are happening around us every day."

"I wish the graduates who are going to be involved in the Black Graduation well. I hope they understand that no matter what degree you attain through academia, you must be on the right side of the struggle" Riley says of the Custodians' eighteen month effort to obtain wage equity.

"If the Union and UC Berkeley are able to agree on a contract before the commencement ceremony on May 12, I will be more than happy to deliver my speech," Riley adds.

Alongside Riley and actor Danny Glover - who previously pulled out of this weekend's UC Commencement - U.S. Congresswoman and UC Berkeley alumnus Barbara Lee, plus 2008 Presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John Edwards have all lent support to the AFSCME Local 3299's demand to end to poverty wages. The Union's actions began at UC's Berkeley, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara and Irvine campuses, when it noticed that employees with similar duties at surrounding institutions make $4 to $6 more per hour.

The Coup use a free song to encourage a G.I. rebellion

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 00:03:00 -0700

The Coup Calls Up MySpace Friends To Encourage G.I. Rebellion
Boots Riley Comes Out Swinging Against The War In Iraq

Boots Riley The Coup's revered, thought-provoking MC is hoping to utilize a post of his band's incendiary, anti-war song Captain Sterling's Little Problem on its MySpace Blog (www.myspace.com/thecoupmusic) as a means to spark a G.I. Rebellion against the War In Iraq.

Riley is encouraging The Coup's 25,000 MySpace friends to download the Pick A Bigger Weapon track, which features guitar by Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello, for free and send it via email or burned CD to everyone they know in the military. In doing so, Riley believes the G.I. dissent could prompt Congress to act more decisively.

I have this suggestion: the soldiers should demand to be returned home, using any means necessary to make this happen, Boots blogs. "This would lead to a swift end to this war, saving countless lives, both U.S. and Iraqi Congress hasn't done more than give lip service to wanting the war to end. The people that are directly affected by this war are going to have to act.

Captain Sterling's Little Problem was originally recorded as the theme for "Sir! No Sir!," David Zieger's recent documentary of the Vietnam War. Inspired by the stories that some of the veterans tell in the film, Boots reports that at one point a Pentagon report deemed half of the soldiers in Vietnam were mutinous and not to be trusted, adding that the largely unreported G.I. rebellions played a very important role in stopping the Vietnam war.

Counting lines like, You brought us to this country not to free but bodybag them/And free up all their money so accounting firms can add them ," the scorching song from the Associated Press #1 album of 2006 cannot be ignored.

So far about 600,000 Iraqi civilians have died in this war and at least 3,100 U.S. soldiers have died, Riley writes. Much has been publicized about the role that music plays in the military today. I've seen a few news segments about the music that soldiers are listening to on their Walkmans and MP3 players how they listen to certain songs to get in the mood to do what they have to do. Besides the motivation of purely expressing my thoughts, my experience and my emotions, I also make music to influence people to see my point of view.

Riley who was recently selected as keynote speaker for UC Berkeley's Black Graduation on May 12th will join The Coup for an explosive set next month at The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Sunday, April 29th.

Boots Riley (The Coup) chosen as speaker at UC Berkley Graduation!

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 00:01:00 -0800

THE COUP'S PICK A BIGGER WEAPON TOP'S CRITIC'S YEAR END LISTS

Boots Riley, The Coup's admired, outspoken MC, has just been announced as the keynote speaker at UC Berkeley's Black Graduation Ceremony, slated for Saturday May 12th. The Oakland, CA-based Riley, who has been involved in political activism and hip/hop in the Bay Area since the age of 15, is the driving force behind the group's thought provoking Epitaph album Pick A Bigger Weapon. Released in April 2006, the disc landed at or near the top of a number of critic's recent year-end lists.

The Associated Press (#1), Rolling Stone (Top 50), Murder Dog (#2), The Chicago Tribune (#7), The Salt Lake Tribune (#4), The Onion AV Club (#8), and The Washington Post (#9) bestowed their approval, with The Eastbay Express curiously dubbing it the 'most wrathful rock album' of 2006.

Touted as 'the best hip-hop act of the last decade' by Billboard, outlets as diverse as the New Yorker (The Coup remains one of the rap world's great resources fearless, fierce and funny as hell and the new album is a potent combination of leftist politics, revolutionary humanitarianism, and triumphant funk) and Elle (a record that's hilarious, righteously angry, and highly danceable) have been long on praise for the incendiary group's fifth album.

At the top of its game, The Coup has delivered a genre classic with Pick A Bigger Weapon. Lauded for its sublime, lyrical blend of personal, political and sensual rhymes set to the beat of some of the finest digi-funk since Prince and P-Funk, the album has been called 'their best yet' by a diverse array of publications, including Entertainment Weekly, USA Today and XLR8R. Additionally, rave reviews have come from the likes of Pitchforkmedia.com, XXL, Billboard, Filter,, The Village Voice, URB and many others.

[The Coup] make their intentions of overthrowing the government and partying righteously while they're doing it clear to any dance floor that will have them, Style Weekly wrote. 'This is an unflinching musical manifesto of socialist intent.'

Meanwhile, Rolling Stone asserted, 'Riley's rhymes work so well because they're more about real life than rhetoric, calling Pick A Bigger Weapon 'the rare record that makes revolution sound like hot fun on a Saturday night.' But perhaps The Onion said it best: 'Boots fuses sexuality and celebration with naked politics just as seamlessly as he combines irreverent humor and heartwarming humanism.'

The Coup's "Pick A Bigger Weapon" named to Rolling Stone's "Top 50 Albums of 2006"

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 00:12:00 -0800

#49 Pick a Bigger Weapon:

Longtime Oakland, California, rapper Boots Riley does things his own way -- big Afro, a live band and a militant leftism better informed than that of, say, Dead Prez. "Baby Let's Have a Baby Before Bush Do Somethin' Crazy" is his sexy love song, and glory be, it's actually erotic. "Head (of State)" shares a character with that one and is also sexy in its own way: "Bush and Hussein together in bed/Giving h-e-a-d head/Y'all motherfuckers heard what we said/Billions made and millions dead."

www.rollingstone.com

Boot Riley of The Coup drops an update about the bus crash

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:12:00 -0800

This comes straight from Boots Riley of The Coup:

The Crash: So, we got on the bus after doing a show at The House of Blues San Diego as part of The Coup/Mr. Lif tour. As the bus took off, I thought that I would go lay in my bunk, listen to my Ipod, and write. But then Zhara, Mr. Lif's friend and the tour's merchandise seller, announced that she had "Anchorman" on DVD. Oh Shit. Will Ferrell or writing? Hot 16s would have to wait tonight...Good Night San Diego! So I stayed up in the front lounge of the bus and, even though I've seen this movie twice, commenced to laugh my ass off. Almost literally, because of what happened next. Shortly after the acapella singing of "Afternoon Delight" by Ferrell et al., a big bump, then another, then plummeting down as we tipped over to the left. I was sitting in the diner-like booth that many of these buses have in the front. I held on to the table with one hand and tried to guard my head with the other, all the while thinking that I was probably about to die. I don't remember seeing everyone flying and flipping around me as it was happening, but Carter's (the road manager) and Wiz's face were covered in blood, and everybody seemed to be laying around hurt. The bus was on it's side, with the entrance door up. I called for people to say there names so we could get a head count of who was conscious or not. Silk E, Q (drums), Riccol (bass), and Metro (Lif's hype man) were trapped in the back lounge because the doors connecting the front and back lounges to the bunks were electrically powered and didn't move with no power on. They ended up ripping and squeezing their way out of a tiny little window and jumped down off the bus as the rest of us got out the front. I was the third person to jump off the front of the bus, as I hung down to make the jump shorter, I saw that the front of the bus was on fire. I yelled to everyone, saying to get off the bus immediately because the bus was on fire and it could blow up. We all did. No one was killed. The bus was totally engulfed in flames. For a while no one stopped to help, supposedly because the thought we were "illegal aliens" crossing the border. Eventually some great folks stopped and helped. Silk E has two broken ribs and a punctured lung. Wiz has a broken nose, two deep lacerations to the head, and a shattered knee. Zhara has injuries to her hand and had to undergo surgery. Carter had to get stitches to his head and lip. The driver, Glenn, has a broken jaw. All the first three will be in need of follow-up treatments. We all have aching backs, legs, heads etc. Many of us are on pain killers.

We lost everything in that crash and fire. We were packed to live and do shows on that bus for a month. Most of us had every stitch of clothing we owned on there. We lost clothes, computers, recording equipment, cameras, IDs, phones, keys to cars and homes. We lost cash.We lost all our damn instruments and equipment to perform with. We were and are happy to walk away with our lives. But now we're home. Most of� the band touring with The Coup has kids, rent that won't quit, bills, and holiday expenses coming. We need money, because like I said the band doesn't have the tools that they make a living with. Not only did we lose cash and material things on the bus, but we also were depending on this tour for money to make it through. It may take a year for us to see any money from the insurance company.

I have set up a Paypal account so people can make donations for The Coup. The money will be split between Me (Boots Riley), Silk E, Q, Steve Wyreman (guitar), and Riccol. Mr. Lif is setting one up on his site and when I have that info, we'll let you know.

There should be a button right below this that allows you to donate even without a paypal account.

If you have an account, ours is thecoupbuscrash@gmail.com.

Thank you in advance to anyone who does this, this is a really crazy situation. I never thought I would would be doing something like this. I also never thought that we would almost die like like that.

We're grateful for anything you can do.
Thank you,
Boots Riley

P.S. Thank you for the messages of love and warmth we've been receiving. It makes a difference.
4:25 PM "

There's a Pay Pal button to make a donation at The Coup's MySpace page or make a donation here: http://www.myspace.com/thecoupmusic

Many thanks!

The Coup survives bus crash; cancels tour dates!

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 00:12:00 -0800

Revered hip/hop outfit The Coup will likely be forced to cancel its current tour with Mr. Lif after its bus flipped and caught fire early Saturday morning (December 2nd) in Imperial, California. The accident occurred at approximately 3:50 a.m. some two hours east of San Diego following a Friday night performance at The House of Blues.

All occupants managed to get off of the bus before it became engulfed in flames and were transported to El Centro Regional Medical Center. However, Silk-E, Mr. Lif�s DJ, Wiz, the group�s bus driver, Glenn, incurred severe injuries requiring them to be flown to hospitals in San Diego and Palm Springs. Silk-E suffered several broken ribs and a punctured lung and Wiz suffered a deep laceration to the head and a broken leg.

The tour�s merchandise person, Zhana, sustained a severe hand laceration and was transported by ambulance to San Diego. Despite losing all of their possessions in the fire � including laptops, clothes, equipment, cell phones and cash � the rest of the bus occupants walked away with minor bruises, cuts, scrapes and are doing okay.

The Coup had been en route to a Saturday night performance at Chasers in Scottsdale, Arizona. The politically-charged rap outfit, fronted by Boots Riley, was in support of its recent, highly acclaimed Epitaph album Pick A Bigger Weapon.

The following tour dates have been officially cancelled:

12.09.06 The Abbey Chicago, IL
12.10.06 Grog Shop Cleveland Heights, OH
12.15.06 The Paradise Boston, MA
12.16.06 Hammerstein Ballroom New York, NY
12.17.06 Otto Bar Baltimore, MD
12.18.06 Black Cat Washington, DC
12.19.06 First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, PA

Billboard.com covers The Coup!

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 00:11:00 -0800

I think that it was their detailed account of how the U.S. supported Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war -- told in the form of a butt-bumping block-party dance anthem -- that convinced me the Coup is the best hip-hop act of the past decade.

When I heard "Pick a Bigger Weapon" (Epitaph), the Oakland duo's latest album, I can say without exaggeration that I rejoiced -- few things are more refreshing these days than a obvious political viewpoint and Prince-golden-era funktitude.

Formed in 1992, the Coup is led by rapper/producer Boots Riley, a declared communist since 14, and Pam the Funkstress, a first-rate DJ and professional gourmet caterer; musicians on "Pick a Bigger Weapon" include veterans of Audioslave, Parliament-Funkadelic, Toni! Tony! Ton�! and the Gap Band. Hell yes.

My personal hall of fame aside, the new album's greatest practical triumph is that it represents the Coup's successful, um, coup, against potentially career-murdering mainstream conservatism. "Pick A Bigger Weapon" is the Coup's first album since 2001's "Party Music." The original cover art of the latter, which was completed three months before 9/11, depicted Boots and Pam setting off an explosion in the World Trade Center using a guitar tuner and drumsticks.

The cover was pulled immediately after the attacks, and the album released with new artwork. Needless to say, the criticism was already flowing. Of course, the controversy also earned "Party Music" a lot of attention, deserved mostly for being a flat-out marvelous record.

But even in the current political climate, it's not just the Coup's head-bopping, bat-swinging subversion that makes me want to sing back-up and play laser tag with Boots and Pam. The songs on "Pick a Bigger Weapon" reach much further into the sludge and soda of life than just accusing Bush and Hussein of giving each other head -- which they do in "Head [of State]".

Take "Tiffany Hall," Boots's mourning apology to a friend who died of complications from liposuction: "Your shape was great if I may say so, way before J-Lo/Whoever told you it wasn't had horns not a halo/Or is it just that your behind was up to discuss?/Cause as a man, mine ain't talked about much."

"I Love Boosters!" praises the women who steal from retail chains to outfit neighborhood kids for cheap: "For some of y'all folks, this stuff might phase ya/This ain't the way the society raised ya/But most of it was made by children in Asia/The stores make money off of very low wages/The next time you see two women running out the Gap/With arms full of clothes still strapped to the rack/Once they jump in the car, hit the gas and scat/If you have to say something, just stand and clap."

Even some of the Coup's direct political criticism slithers in as a slow jam called "BabyLet'sHaveaBabyBeforeBushDoSomethin'Crazy," featuring guest vocalist Silk E, and sticking it to the Man comes in an idea we can all embrace called "Ijuswannalayaroundalldayinbedwithyou": "Lose me in your details, break my codes/'Til all the good breakfast spots is closed/Them rich folks gots to knows, it's 'bout controllin' these minutes/They can party cause we work 'til our lower back goes."

All of these lyrics are set to blast-worthy smoothies of Pam the Funkstress's turntables and plenty of live instruments, filling out the hip-hop beats with sweet funk and soul. The songs range from backyard barbecue uprisings like "Laugh/Love/Fuck" to lung-thumping marches like "My Favorite Mutiny," featuring Talib Kweli and the Roots' Black Thought.

Some of the tracks remind me of the reason I so often find my satellite radio tuned to the "old skool" channel -- not to visit the halcyon days of the Casio keyboard, but for the jazz-rap of groups like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest (not that Casio stuff isn't tasty in its own way). The Coup's music is different, but pays similar respect to hip-hop's family tree.

Maybe it's the fact that it's election season, or that Boots Riley seems like the kind of communist you'd want your kids to meet, but I haven't been this energized about a band in a long time. The Coup toured this summer in support of "Pick a Better Weapon," and the news is they'll be out again from Nov. 24 through New Year's Eve -- I know I'll be at B.B. King's here in New York on Dec. 19, even though Pam the Funkstress is sitting this trip out, because I'm definitely due for a good booty-shaking rally against the oppressors.

www.billboard.com