CD Odyssey Disc 1640: The Coup

I’m off to a late start today after staying up all night to watch King Charles III’s coronation. I’m a sucker for lavish ceremony, and the outfits alone made it worth the price of admission. In this case, that price was sleep deprivation.

I’m still a bit groggy but I’ve given this next album a full week in the car and despite how much I liked it, it is time to move on. Odyssey rules say I can’t do that until I write the review so…here you go!

Disc 1640 is…Genocide & Juice

Artist: The Coup

Year of Release: 1994

What’s up with the Cover?  The Coup hang out down at some dock. E-Roc appears to be pouring out a 40. Pam the Funkstress provides a “what the hell?” pose and Boots revels in the glory of being Boots.

How I Came To Know It: For the second straight album I had to resort to Amazon. Even there, this album wasn’t available for years so when a copy popped up on a search, I snatched it up before it was too late.

How It Stacks Up: I have six Coup albums, which, as it happens, is their entire career. I like all six, but since I’m here to make the hard choices, I’ll put “Genocide & Juice” in at #1. Yeah, you read that right. The best.

Rating: 4 stars

“Genocide & Juice” has that quality that is always a dead giveaway that I’m listening to a classic rap record, which is that it is hard to listen to while also writing about it. Typically, I steep one last time in an album as I write a review, but when the rhymes and flows are as compelling as they are on “Genocide & Juice” concentrating on your own words is a challenge. I turned the volume down a titch – a crime all its own – and was able to power through.

Later in their career, the Coup become funkier and funkier with danceable tunes and a radio-friendly groove. Early on, they are more likely to steer toward thought-provoking rhymes and innovative beats. Their talents for both are never better than on “Genocide & Juice”.

After the oft-included (but rarely welcome) “Intro” track from hip hop records of this era, the Coup get down to business with “Fat Cats, Bigga Fish” a song about the dog-eat-dog world they see in modern America and characters driven to crime through poverty. Our anti-hero of the song starts his day riding the bus with a stolen pass, before he begins taking a closer look at how he’s managing:

“The streetlight reflects off the piss on the ground
Which reflects off the hamburger sign, it turns round
Which reflects off the chrome of the BMW
Which reflects off the fact that I'm broke, now what the fuck is new?”

Images that conjure sight, sound and even smell – if you’re lucky the latter being the hamburger.

“Pimps” uses a free style “rounds” approach, as members of the band take turns making fun of the accents of the rich, before dropping some innovative and compelling raps. Full kudos if this was done free-style as advertised, because it is great. My only disappointment was the references to Donald Trump, which have aged awkwardly given events of more recent years. The band’s hilariously put-on “upper class twit” accents between verses makes even this forgivable, however.

The beats on this record are harbinger of the truly funky stuff that will come later. Here, the lyrics are forward in the mix, but there is no denying those back-loosening beats on “Gunsmoke”, “Hard Concrete” and many others.

While I like a lot of Coup albums equally, the song that puts “Genocide & Juice” over the top is “Repo Man”. Telling the tale of a Repo Man cruising through the neighbourhood, repossessing cars and property from folks making a marginal living. Just as they do, throughout the record, the Coup paint a clear picture of another of the ‘hood’s recurring characters:

“Seen him slidin' through the town about eleven o'clock
A 1994 850 and the tires were stock
He'll make a visit to your house like without no knock
And if you pulls out a pole it wouldn't be no shock
I gives a fuck how much you bench press, if you ain't pushin' up
That twenty-five percent interest, your property gets chin checked”

On top of the great imagery, this is the Coup’s funkiest tune which is saying a LOT, because this band is damned funky, and the albums that follow this one just keep raising the bar. Nothing beats “Repo Man” though, and ultimately nothing beats “Genocide & Juice” either. It is a rap classic.

Best tracks: Fat Cats, Bigga Fish, Pimps, Gunsmoke, Hard Concrete, Repo Man, Interrogation

CD Odyssey Disc 1387: The Coup

It was a beautiful day for a walk home, which is exactly what I did. If my walk had a bit of a strut to it well, that’s just this next album working its magic.

Disc 1387 is…. Pick a Bigger Weapon

Artist: The Coup

Year of Release: 2006

What’s up with the Cover? Boots Riley and Pam the Funkstress have apparently had a bad day at the office and have decided to hit back a little. Unfortunately for that computer monitor, Pam hits back with a bat.   

How I Came To Know It: I’ve been digging through their discography for the last eight or nine months. I was lucky enough to find four of their albums at my local record store and “Pick a Bigger Weapon” was one of those.

How It Stacks Up: I currently have four albums by The Coup. Of those, “Pick a Bigger Weapon” comes in at #2. The two I’m missing will likely displace it, but they aren’t here, and this record is.

Ratings: 4 stars

“Pick a Bigger Weapon” feels like someone crossed the intricate rhymes of Eminem with the old school funk of the Ohio Players. If you think that sounds like a good combination, you’d be right. This being the Coup’s penultimate release, it tends toward their movement away from the rap side of the combination toward the traditional R&B, but there is still more than enough of both to please, regardless of your preference.

The best songs feature both aspects of their music, mixing some of the funkiest grooves you’ll ever hear in with top-grade emcee work. Front-man Boots Riley has a killer flow to his rap, mixing impeccable timing, interconnected rhymes, politics and more than a little humour as well. As with ever Coup album, Boots has a lot of political points to make, but the humour is the sugar coating that helps it all go down easier.

While Boots and Pam the Funkstress (turntables) are the only full-time members of the band, there is host of talented musicians playing on the record. They throw in the usual (guitar, bass, drums) along with strings, horns, synthesizers, harmonica or whatever the hell else the song needs to sound funky. James Brown once said, “it’s got to be funky” and the Coup were clearly listening. All this live playing gives the record a wonderful organic feel.

The record is front-end loaded, with the majority of its greatness in the first half – Side One for you vinyl freaks. This means it tends to tail off on repeat listens, as I found myself antsy to skip back to the beginning before it was over. It doesn’t help that the record is 17 songs and 65 minutes long. The final three minutes of the album is aimless wandering guitar and hand claps, which also didn’t help.

However, I can forgive all of these sins given how awesome Side One is. It starts with “Bullets and Love”, a crazy mix of synthesizer, rock guitar, hand claps (of the non-aimless variety) and Boots’ microphone mastery spitting revolutionary zeal for a minute and a half. It ends so quickly that you could be left hanging, if it weren’t for the immediate launch of the album’s best track, “We Are the Ones” full of groove and social commentary (the Coup’s favourite combo), guaranteed to make you strut in a funk-inspired dance fest.

The Coup are social activists as much as they are musicians, with many a political message. They mix their partying with a call to arms, or as they summarize so succinctly on “Laugh/Love/Fuck”:

“I’m here to laugh, love, fuck and drink liquor

And help the damned revolution come quicker.”

I’ll leave the politics to them (this is a music blog), but however you feel about it, they deliver some furious rhymes on song after song, intricate rhymes chaining from line to line, all delivered over musicians who absolutely occupy the pocket.

The Coup bring humour to their message as well, with “Ass Breath Killers” detailing the invention of pills that counteract the disease of kissing too much ass. This song is also the best of Pam the Funkstress’ work on the turntables.

I’m not much for revolution, but you don’t have to want to foment revolution to enjoy great R&B and rap music, and “Pick a Bigger Weapon” features plenty of both. The Coup is one of my happiest discoveries of 2019, and this record is a worthy entry in their catalogue.

Best tracks: Bullets and Love (introduction), We Are the Ones, Laugh/Love/Fuck, My Favourite Mutiny, Head (Of State), Sho Yo Ass, Ass Breath Killers, Captain Sterling’s Little Problem

CD Odyssey Disc 1371: The Coup

It’s been five days since my last review. This is mostly because this next album was both new to me (necessitating multiple listens) and long (meaning those listens each took a while). Ah, well – it’s the journey, not the destination that makes Odysseus’ journey so interesting.

Although that whole “slaughter the suitors” thing at the end of the Odyssey is pretty dope…but I digress. Back to the music.

Disc 1371 is…. Steal this Double Album

Artist: The Coup

Year of Release: 1998

What’s up with the Cover? Boots Riley and Pam the Funkstress get locked up in Barcode Prison, presumably for…stealing this album?

How I Came To Know It: Just digging through the Coup’s discography after I heard about them in some article. I certainly did not come to know it by stealing the album, despite the Coup’s encouragement. I bought it from my local record store with cash money. Hopefully as dedicated revolutionaries, the Coup will appreciate me thinking for myself on this one.

How It Stacks Up: I have four Coup albums so far (still searching for two more). Of those four, “Steal this Double Album” comes in at #4. Hey, something had to be last.

Ratings: 3 stars

No more than 14 songs. It is a simple guideline that ensures you keep only the best tracks for your album and leave the other ones on the cutting room floor. Bands violate this guideline at their peril. In this case the peril is real, as is the bloated nature of the record. Fortunately, while it would have been better with less content "Steal the Double Album" still delivers lots of hard hitting, funky hip hop.

The album is a mix of almost free form narrative flow, funky grooves and humour, all of it infused with a heavy dose of social commentary.

While the Coup is often political, on “Steal this Double Album” rolls a lot of their social commentary into intensely personal explorations of poverty. When they get dark, they get really dark. “Underdogs” tells the story of a mom eating spoonfuls of peanut butter and drinking water to stave off hunger so she can feed their children. But they also find the adventure in it all, such as reminiscing of a youth spent trying to get into concerts for free on “Sneakin’ In”.

Somewhere in between is “Repo Man Sings For You,” a song that starts with a “is that that pizza man?” skit, but quickly converts into the murky worldview of the morally ambiguous title character, seemingly taking delight in his work. “Repo Man Sings for You” is one of about a half-dozen songs the record could live without. Listening to it, I just wanted to hear the far funkier, funnier and more thoughtful “Repo Man” from their previous record, “Genocide & Juice.”

On the funky side, “20,000 Gun Salute” and “Busterismology” both bust out seventies grooves and mix them with furious rhymes and great chorus catch phrases, including my personal favourite:

“When we start the revolution

All they’ll prob’ly do is snitch.”

These songs have a natural swagger, combined with some furious and creative rhyming that makes them better and better on repeat listens. You can agree with the message or you can oppose it, but you'll probably bob your head to the beat all the same.

As you might expect from advocates of revolution, the Coup don’t terribly care that they might offend you. “Piss On Your Grave” is a metaphor but they also mean it literally. The song features the Coup picking through a mix of traditional bad guys up as well as lauded political figures and gives them all the same violent payback, before er…reminding you of the song’s title. The tune has an exceptional horn section that gives the whole thing a fun groove but make no mistake; the Coup is only kidding around on the surface.

The record has some exceptional rap gymnastics from frontman Boots Riley, although there are also times where it doesn’t hit as hard as I’d like and instead favouring a jazzier delivery. I like the album best when they lay in the horns and the funk as the backdrop to their revolutionary zeal.

Fortunately, despite the excess, there are plenty of grooves to go around, and while some are better than others, none of the tracks are truly bad. I just wanted the whole thing to be a bit tighter.

Best tracks: The Shipment, 20,000 Gun Salute, Busterismology, Cars & Shoes, Piss on Your Grave, What the Po-Pos Hate

CD Odyssey Disc 1342: The Coup

I’ve been discovering a lot of great music lately, but more and more I can’t find those albums on CD. It is a dying format, and I’m having a hard time letting go and converting to the sad and sterile land of the download code.

Rap is one of the worst genres for this, as modern rap artists have embraced the digital-only world with enthusiasm. Fortunately, this next album came out during the golden age of the compact disc, and I found it almost immediately.

Disc 1342 is…Kill My Landlord

Artist: The Coup

Year of Release: 1993

What’s up with the Cover? Members of the Coup welcome us into their kitchen. Well, maybe 'welcome' isn't the right word here. Band leader Boots Riley is brandishing a frying pan. Maybe he's just going to cook up some breakfast, but all those angry glares suggest otherwise.

How I Came to Know It: I was reading some music article or other (as I often do) and the Coup song “Magic Clap” got mentioned in a capacity I no longer remember. At the time, however, I was interested enough to check out the song and I liked what I heard.

“Magic Clap” isn’t even on this record, but that’s how it all started. From there I dug through the entire Coup discography with wild abandon. And here we are.

How It Stacks Up: The Coup have six albums and they are all good. Unfortunately, I’ve only managed to find four so far. Of the four I have, “Kill My Landlord” comes in 3^rd.

Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4

“Kill My Landlord” is the first album from the Coup, a very funky, very political rap act from Oakland, California. If you’re wondering if the title of the album is a bit of playful hyperbole the answer is…I hope so. The Coup’s lyrics can be funny, it is also clear they are not joking.

This is music for the revolution. While listening to it did not make me feel particularly revolutionary, I did admire the band’s rap flow. Their rhymes are clever, with thoughtful turns of phrase that drive their points home with a controlled rage.

Along the way they skewer Bill Clinton, George Bush and a host of police departments. They even call out Donald Trump (who back in 1993 was just a famous businessman).

The album song list is set up like a baseball lineup, with the center of the lineup featuring the heaviest hitters. Track four is the title track, and a broad call to revolution followed by a song imagining revenge on a violent cop (“I Know You”), a song exploring the power of language over behavior (“I Ain’t the Nigga”) and finishing up with “Last Blunt” a song about how getting high too often saps you of your will to achieve anything. You definitely won’t care about joining the revolution after too much dope, which for the Coup is a big deal.

The chocolate coating that helps all this go down easier is the incredibly funky beats and bass lines. The Coup doesn’t rely solely on a bunch of snare samples and breaks; they’ve got a full band of their own, with drums, guitars, drums and keyboards. This gives their songs a strong R&B feel and a great organic quality. They also throw in a small amount of jazz, but not so much to detract from the groove or to annoy my anti-jazz sensibilities. There is still lots of scratching and sampling, but it is blended well with the ‘live’ band elements.

It's clear the Coup wants “Kill My Landlord” to generate impassioned political debate and push people to action. I hate to disappoint them, but I’m going to stick to the music. I’m sure there are plenty of other websites out there where you can scratch your political itch.

So, from a musical perspective, does the Coup deliver? This is a damned funky record, and the rhymes are solid, and it makes it easy to enjoy over multiple listens. All that social commentary comes off as a bit strident at times, but I suppose that’s the point.

Best tracks: The Coup, I Know You, I Ain’t the Nigga, Last Blunt, Liberation of Lonzo