The Coup - Pick a Bigger Weapon

79%
Radically political music has not found a platform for popularity in the modern day. Essentially, big record companies do not want to sign an artist that opposses "the system", because, well, the compaines are part of the system. More simply put, what CEO would sign The Coup, famous for their song "5 Million Ways to Kill a CEO", (sample lyrics: "you could throw a twenty in a vat of hot oil / when he jump in after it, watch him boil")?

Radically political, Oakland's The Coup has been making music since 1993. The group is compromised of rapper Raymond "Boots" Riley and DJ Pam the Funktress. They are perhaps unfortunatly best remembered for their infamous unreleased album cover (made before 9/11) where they are shown in front of an explosion going off in the World Trade Center. Their love for 70's funk mixed with contemporary politics, as well as their attempts to portray a hard political message while still creating invigorating music that would not sound out of place at a party recalls Public Enemy.

The Coup hires a few people to perform live instrumentation reminiscent of 70's music, particularly funk or soul. Also, some of the songs have a considerable Prince tinge to them (re-inforced by the more "sexy" lyrics offered on some songs by Riley). The live band features Tony Toni Toné's Dwayne Wiggins and alumni of Maze, Parliament and The Gap Band.

The album doesn't pick up until track 3, "Laugh, Love, Fuck", thanks to it's funky lead synth and slap bass. Track 4, "My Favorite Mutiny" tries an Issac Hayes-type soul which works really well, and features good guest verses from Black Thought (of the Roots) and Talib Kweli. The chorus doesn't work as well, but it kind of grows on you. The song takes on a suprising instrumental portion at the end, which is unexpected but also really cool.

Indie rap has a tendency to be overly pretentious and "intelligent and deep" (read: boring), something that this album's label, Epitaph (the most successfull indie label ever, I do believe) has been a stronghold for. Given this, it's nice to hear a group that still wants to have fun.

At the same time, given Oakland's now-semi-mainstream "hyphy" movement (advertised as the new "crunk" of 2006), it's also nice to hear a group from that area sounding so different (remember when everyone in Atlanta wanted to sound like Lil' Jon? Yeah, now everyone in Oakland wants to sound like E-40. It's a little ridiculous, if you ask me, but I digress). The group sounds smart and diverse but at the same time fun, which is a real plus (to quote Chris Rock: "some conscious rappers need some ignorant beats").

"IJustWannaLayAroundAllDayAndBeWithYou" has a sexy soul Curtis Mayfield-ish vibe to it, which is cool, but it doesn't really work as a rap song (and whoever sings on these choruses needs to get their act together). It also has a nice instrumental portion at the end. "Head (of State)" has a pretty good history rap from Boots Riley ("war ain't about one land against the next / it's poor people dyin' so the rich cash checks") with a terrible chorus ("Bush and Hussein together in bed / giving each other h-e-a-d, head!" Yeah. What?). It also doesn't have the kind of great enough music to excuse that chorus.

"ShoYoAss" has a Quiet Storm vibe (not really my thing) that works pretty well for what it is and but also has a nice funky keyboard solo at the end. "Yes 'Em to Death" is part of what I do believe is one of the worst trends to ever have affected hip-hop music. It's a "skit." 90% of these are horribly unfunny and a general waste of time, but thankfully this kind of serves a point - to introduce the next song. It's 1:17 long and 90% of it could have been cut to same the serve purpose.

The next song "Ass-Breath Killers" is kinda (but only kinda) funny (about fictional pills which make you stop kissing ass) and it has a pretty alright bit of keyboard and scratching and a real nice guitar at the end, although it's hardly special. "Get that Monkey off your Back" has a "Dirty Mind"-era Prince feel, which is a plus, but it kind of lacks really good vocals. The band keeps on a commendable roll with "Mindfuck (A New Equation)", although Boots tries his breathier, low-key flow which I'm not a big fan of. "Two Enthusiastic Thumbs Down!" features former Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra doing a spoken-word bit, but its 1:15 long and it's not entertaining.

Lyrically, the album is really diverse and at times almost confusing - there's "Ass-Breath Killers" , "I Love Boosters!" (a light-heartedly funky song celebrating people who steal from department stores and re-sell the products), "Tiffany" (a story about a woman which sends a message in a story without preaching), etc.

"BabyLet'sHaveABabyBeforeBushDoSomethin'Crazy" (no, I have no idea what the point of ridonkulously long song titles with no spaces in them is) features R&B singer Silk E doing all the vocals, and it's kind of slow and not all that entertaining.

"Captain Sterling's Little Problem" features current Audioslave (and ex-Rage Against the Machine) guitar genius Tom Morello doing an OK wah-wah riff while the bass drum booms and the snare stutters. Unforuneatly it's nowhere near as cool as it should be, cause it sounds rather bare-bones (in an incomplete way) and the vocals aren't great either. At the end there's some weird sound which may or may not be a guitar solo (you never really know with Tom Morello). It's kind of interesting, but it's definitely no "Bulls on Parade". The album closes on a more D'Angelo-ish note with "The Stand", which is alright but not special.

Ultimately, The Coup does an admirable effort. Boots Riley never gets too serious and preachy but is able to deliver a message, and at times tries to be funny or silly. He's clever and good enough to almost make it all work, but it doesn't quite. The backing music is pretty solid throughout, although it kind of falters in the second half of the disc. The Coup draws heavily from Public Enemy and Prince, and despite not besting either's heydays, "Pick a Bigger Weapon" is a better album than any of those two's 2006 releases (think about that one). The Coup manages to be both smart and fun more often than not, and "Pick a Bigger Weapon" is largely a success.

- Luis