The Coup, Sorry to Bother You
Featured Album
Keeping his loose sense of humor and rebellious lyrics intact
Boots Riley has had a few other things to do than rap for Oakland collective the Coup as of late – appearing at the forefront of the Occupy movement, for one. But for their seventh album in 20 years, Riley’s loose sense of humor remains intact in much the way as his taste for lyrics that spell out rebellion. Just check the Monty Python kazoos of “Your Parents’ Cocaine” or the tinny punk beat of “You Are Not a Riot,” not to mention some of that song’s pissy lyrics: “You are the tight leather pants on the old ex-general/ You, you are not rebellion/ I got the invite to your party and I threw it away.” “Riot” eventually morphs into drawling, Bernie Worrell-style synth, but it’s spare rather than enveloping, and that’s Sorry to Bother You as a whole as well. Riley wants to spotlight musical schisms as well as societalones.
