Posted on 06/18/2009
Who’s that one with the saloon style sideburns, always rapping about COINTELPRO and the Communist Manifesto anyway? That’s a typical question only from those who have been in neglectful hibernation for the whole 21st century. One, it’s Boots Riley of The Coup, duh, and two, it’s not ‘93 when The Coup are name dropping political ideas just for the mere shock value. Boots, the lyrical iconoclast himself will be the first tell you that The Coup’s music has evolved from Hip-Hop to Funk, and now Rock, and with it, Boots has matured from a line-for-line rhyme propagandist to a ripe free-form musician dropping revolutionary party jams. So don’t be alarmed that Boots’ new album, Street Sweeper Social Club, brought into fruition with the help of Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello is filled with spicy riffs and rock star distortion. Just think of it as Rock feedback with a revolutionary kick back.