Customer Reviews

Pick A Bigger Weapon

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anyone who tries to tell me that rap is all about bling bling and a glamorized drug culture needs to take a listen to the Coup. This group does what I thought couldn't be done, they make intelligent, funny, and poignant rap music with a deep groove and a sense of how to rock a party. In fact, this Oakland duo is making party music for the coming revolution.

The Coup is Pam the Funkstress as DJ and Boots Riley, MC. Pam's work is amazing here, both as a scratcher and as a producer with an ear for big fun grooves. The influence of classic funk is all over this CD. Jams like Laugh/Love/F*&% and Monkey Off Your Back have a serious four on them that recalls classic P-Funk, while Shoyoass has a keyboard solo on it that might have come straight from Bernie Worell. Even the sillier stuff like Head (of State) and I Love Boosters are characterized by grooves that won't quit and make your feet want to get up and move. In fact, if another rapper was over top these beats it not hard to imagine any number of them as club hits.

But another rapper isn't working in this duo and thank God for that. Boots Riley is one of the more gifted and intelligent rappers working today. His rhymes are passionate, often very funny, and occasionally moving without the "slice of life" street violence of even the most socially conscious mainstream rappers. What other rapper would mix a call to revolution with a call to party. ("If I can't change the world I ain't leavin'/Baby that's why you should call me this ev'nin') Boots wants revolution, there's no question. He mixes a street smart sensibility with fairly well developed revolutionary thought, but he is at his most humorous when he's most political. His use of a childhood street taunt to recap the secret history of the Iraq conflict is both funny and frightening since it's all true. The ongoing skit and song about Assbreathkillers is hilarious and a call to all people to examine how much we put up with day to day from those who we allow to have power over us.

But Riley is also an extremely versatile rapper. Lay Around All Day In Bed is one of the sexiest raps I've ever heard, mixing a sensuous groove from Pam that recalls classic Bootsy Collins with a sexy rap about not wanting to leave your woman for your work. Being Boots, he brings in resentment against meaningless work and the daily grind and eventually builds the track into a call for social revolution...but he does it soooooo smoothly. Boots also tells stories that in other hands could be fairly maudlin, such as Tiffany Hall, a tribute to a young black woman of intelligence, who's self-image is marred by her heavy frame and who dies of complications from botched liposuction. In other hands this would almost surely be played for irony or laughs, but Boots plays it totally straight and the track becomes an honest self-criticism (he admits that he too made fun of her large backside) and an indictment of a society that would put more emphasis on the shape of a woman rather than the spirit she shows.

The tracks on this disc are enhanced by some rather incredible musicians, who help the disc maintain a live funk sound rather than the rather old sounding looped hip hop which still dominates the genre. And several tracks feature the voice of Silk E, a singer with whom I am unfamiliar but who impresses me very much. In fact, Silk E gets the most moving track of the album all to herself, the surprisingly poignant Baby Let's Have A Baby (Before Bush Do Something Crazy). Despite the humorous sounding this track is a tender cry for love from a woman who has just gotten her life together and stopped smoking crack and looking for a little permanence in a world which seems careening towards destruction. Silk E's voice is tremulous with emotion and makes the track deeply affecting.

All in all, Pick a Bigger Weapon proves that, despite impressions to the contrary, it is possible to produce a socially conscious, politically progressive rap album that is also entertaining and a blast to dance to. Other highly political MCs like Immortal Technique, Dead Prez and Son of Nun should take a page from Boots and Pam and remember that it's no coincidence that political parties have the word PARTY in them. After all, in the words of George Clinton, free your mind and you're a** will follow!

This is the sexiest revolution record since "What's Going On" and the smartest state-of-the-world dance record since the peak of The Clash. I've had this playing constantly since I bought it.

"My Favorite Mutiny" will catch a lot of people, as it should. "Laugh/Love/F**k" is what "Songs in the Key of Life" would've sounded like if Huey Newton was on the mic. "The Stand" is beautiful & heartbreaking, with the threatened violence not about putting up a front but the last stand of a family man who has been pushed to the edge -- filled with lush strings, wah-wah guitar and a warm Hammond organ. The whole thing has an early Prince feel peeking out behind the 70s funk.

The musicians are all superb. It sounded like Parliament players and it turns out some of them are on the sessions. Boots Riley is that hip-hop guy Bob Dylan predicted (in the autobiography "Chronicles") would be the one to carry on the serious work.

A few of the last tracks lose a little steam, but even those are growing on me. Good good good.

The Coup is one of the best ways to get aquainted with the Bay, with Oakland. Listen to any of The Coup albums - Kill My Landlord, Genocide & Juice, Steal This Album, etc. - what we are essentially listening to is a soulful, funky, clever, bold, uncompromising, satirical, often downright funny indictment of the streets of Oakland, of the toiling, underprivileged, communities of the world, and, perhaps most importantly, of the oppressive political structure - capitalism - that keeps the poor, poor, and the rich, rich. What has made The Coup one of the best and most consistent rap groups to ever come from Oakland, what has made them a benchmark of "conscious hip hop" everywhere, is their unique ability to draw from the diversity of Oakland, and not fall into what I like to refer to as the clichéd, suburban, granolaism inherent in most socially aware rap music. Boots taps into the history of Oakland: the poverty, the violence, the drug game, the pimping, the politics, and produces a unique sound well outside of anything corny like this. Where granola rap sacrifices good music for a (self-proclaimed) good message, The Coup is able to do both: make good, catchy, often danceable music with a good message. Not just music you can learn from, but slap in the trunk too. Unfortunately, this is not entirely true of Pick A Bigger Weapon. I found myself captivated more by Boots' content than the songs themselves. The production and overall catchiness of this album isn't really as good as it should be and has been.

Boots and Pam have done it again. There are still some better tunes (Funk, Pimps) from earlier albums - but this album is 100% Coup and 100% funky. The best tune on the album is My Favorite Mutiny - fantastico. The Coup still rules.

this is my favorite coup album, lyrics are on point and the beats are jazzy and smooth.
def cop if a fan of coup

I don't really know much (anything!) about hip hop, but I love this album a lot. I got it after listening to the first couple of songs released from Street Sweeper Social Club, I liked that album enough to look for more music by Boots Riley.
Wow. Great music, a lot of the songs make you want to dance and move which isn't always true of music that has the sort of political and social depth the lyrics these songs have.
Jello Biafra appears briefly in the album in one of the skits.
My favorite songs on the album are Laugh/Love/ and My Favorite Mutiny and the mellower song I Just Wanna Lay Around All Day In Bed With You, but I enjoy the whole album and it's high on the frequent playlist on my ipod.

This is an excellent album with positive beats and an even better message. The Coup are awesome & I'm planning on picking up the rest of their CDs as soon as I can. Non-mainstream, non-conformative, thought-provoking hip hop at its finest. I fully recommend.

After having seen them for the first time at the Montreal Jazz Festival, I had to run out and buy this album (got it yesterday). As the Editorial Review says, the beats are amazing and the political commentary especially poignant. Boots is as smooth as they come and the whole album is thoroughly enjoyable. Time to listen to Steal This Double Album tonight...

The Coup - Pick a Bigger Weapon (Epitaph, 2006)

Man, take one genre like snap music and a few East Coast albums that disappointed some fans and all of a sudden hip-hop is dead? No way, you just have to know where to look. While New York and the Dirty South continue to duke it out for the sake of claiming 2006 hip-hop, why not look towards the West Coast with The Coup?

This group has been around since 1993 ("Dig It!" was the jam for me) but this is the only album I have of theirs besides 1998's Steal This Double Album. If you never heard of them, they are mainly a revolutionary band who knows how to have fun as well. On Pick a Bigger Weapon, Boots Riley (the rapper) produces much of the album while still teaching us of society's woes. "We Are the Ones" and "Captain Sterling's Little Problem" are funny yet informative tracks while "I Love Boosters!" talks about people stealing clothes from store and selling them on the street (similar to Jody in the movie, "Baby Boy"). But I think my favorite songs have to be "Laugh/Love/F***" (with singer Silk E. on the hook) and "ShoYoA**". Honorable mention also goes to "Ijustwannalayaroundalldayinbedwithyou", "Head (of State)" and "My Favorite Mutiny" (with Black Thought and Talib Kweli). For the latter track, one reviewer said that it needed more percussion; I disagree, the song rides well with just a thumping bass drum (and besides, there are congas that come in at the end). Furthermore, "Babylet'shaveababybeforebushdosomethingcrazy" only features Silk E. singing and Dwayne Wiggins playing the guitar; since she sang on other songs on this album, this soul ballad doesn't interrupt the flow.

"A**-Breath Killers" and its surrounding skits may be a little too much for some people and I noticed that DJ Pam the Funkstress doesn't do much scratching on this album but Pick a Bigger Weapon is still very, very hot. The grooves actually remind me a little of OutKast's early work (I wish their new album sounded like this). This album is maybe not the best album to listen to if you're right-wing but the best to listen to if you're looking for proof that hip-hop is still alive and kicking. -EJR

I couldn't agree more with Scott (two reviews below me), but on to the album.

The Coup's 5th album "Pick A Bigger Weapon" has raised the bar since "Party Music", Boots Riley comming at you with more political rhymes about the inner work force and some recent events. I've just gotten into their music early this year, and since then I haven't looked at my job the same.

"Laugh/Love/F***" is a good song with a nice head nodding beat that many will like. "My Fav Mutiny" features vocals from Black Thought of The Roots and Talib Kweli from Black Star, an instant stand out track right there, and may attract new listeners. The long distintive title "ijuswannalayaroundalldayinbedwithyou" is a very slow song revolving around the clock at the job. "ShoYoA**" and "A** Breath" will take you back to the old Coup days of what they used to talk about (And I thought Pam was just going to be on the cover and not do anything, but she actually says a few words and gets her scratches in the "ShoYoA**" song) "A** Breath" is a no brainer if you're familar with The Coup (even if you're not, you can guess what that song talks about). I recommend that you don't take the song "I Love Boosters" into action unless you're very good at it. It's a song about the reason why people shoplift to resale the clothes to make money. (And if you're working at a retail shop, it wouldn't be a good idea to clap if you see someone run out of the store with unpaid clothes...but it's all humor though). "BabyLet'sHaveABaby..." singer/rapper Silk E. sings a somewhat of an emotional song, basically repeating the title with some extra vocals. "The Stand" is the final track on the CD on and it'll nod your head over the topic of standing up for what you believe in.


One annoying track I would have to say is "Head (Of State)" of how the hook has a kid's jumprope song about Bush and Hussein. May be a politically funny song to some listeners but others may get a little irritated. Also, The Coup is mostly known for having fans listen to their message sending lyrics, so production gets kind of loose in parts of the album. Also I'm a little mad that Pam doesn't do as any scratches as she did on Party Music. Since The Coup is more focused on their message, production gets a little loose in various parts of the album.

Basically this album is about politics from a poverity standpoint and it stands out from other Coup Albums that I've heard so far. It will be a good for Coup fans old and new. Kinda reminds of those political cartoons that are found in newspapers. Wonderful album and I hope they keep up the good work. Recommended for blue collar & anti-Bush hip hop heads.

Lyrics: A
Production: B+
Musical Vibes: A
Overall: A

Stand out tracks: Laugh/Love/F***, My Favorite Mutiny, ShoYoA**, A**Breath Killers, I Love Boosters!, The Stand

P.S.: To Chen Kai Wen, maybe of you shouldn't go around reviewing other people's reviews and just stick to reviewing the album. I am intitled to say whatever I feel about this album and you will respect that. Not everything Boots says I agree with. I can think of a lot of "ignorant comments" that you said in you review (as well as others you made). Please don't try me buddy! I'm not the person for that.