Greg Dona
07/25/06, 12:07 PM
Underground hip hop has in recent years faded further and further from the public eye. Mainstream acts aggressively continue to command the undivided attention of the casual listener with no room for sharing space. This may be due less to insufficiencies exhibited by lesser known emcees and more to the adaptability of those in the limelight. Artists of late have shown an impressive ability to mix the stereotypical party song pimping ass shaking and booze downing with the occasional ballad or otherwise heartfelt, genuine address.
Boots Riley and the Coup are largely recognized as a phenomenally talented and almost overwhelmingly political crew. The Oakland heroes also represent a force in the underground community alongside persons such as Talib Kweli. On Pick a Bigger Weapon the group follows the lead of more commercially accepted acts by delicately stirring their rendition of crunk tracks with their more comfortable reign of political pieces.
Everything kicks off with a simple bouncing bass line immediately assuming a revolutionary stance with choral bursts of “we came to fight – it’s your disgrace, smash up your place, that’s just polite.” Boots puts an underground spin on trap music by illustrating the economic and lifestyle sacrifices of the unsuccessful dealer. Riley admits on “Laugh/Love/Fuck” that he lives to “laugh, love, fuck and drink liquor,” but yet again he drops a line to solidify his status as a political rapper with the following “and maybe make a revolution.” Bringing in fellow stars Black Thought and Talib Kweli for the once again movement crazed “My Favorite Mutiny” proves a musically justified move as the guests bring beautiful complimentary pitch variations with significantly less nasal vocal work. Boots Riley’s ability to assume a comedic tone throws listeners for a loop and yields impressive diversity to the disc. Such is the case on “Ass-Breath Killers,” a track dedicated to calling out suck-ups, sycophants, and ass-kissers.
However, Riley doesn’t always hit the mark with his lyrical prowess. In fact, oftentimes he misses it by a fairly large margin. An otherwise impressive track, “Head (Of State)” lets somewhat clichéd but still acceptable lyrics like “war ain’t about one land against the next, it’s poor people dying so the rich cash checks” prove entirely futile efforts as childish lashings “Bush and Hussein together in bed, giving h-e-a-d head” effectively ruin the track. It’s at times like this when Riley’s creativity drops off where political attempts fall flat and lose all pop. When this occurs the entire song proceeds to lose its appeal.
Musically, a lack of focus lets the album as a whole hone in on the lyrics as the unifying factor. The beats present and the crew’s incredibly tight, cohesive musical accessorizing which often showcases more traditional instruments over turntable work allow for Riley to churn out one hit after another. But incredible stylistic indecision destroys any notion that this CD plays out as an album as opposed to a collection of singles.
The Coup does show an impressively decisive disposition as they get straight to the point in each of their songs. They hardly ever circumlocute, but rather state their intentions at the outset by introducing a beat to lurk throughout the whole of the song at its very inception. As is vocalized by a female companion on “ShoYoAss,” the listener easily declares “ooh that’s it – that’s my song” when background music first kicks in. This elimination of unnecessary foreplay proves one of the most redeeming qualities of Pick a Bigger Weapon; fans appreciate not having to deal with stereotypical skit interference at regular, frequent intervals.
The Coup shows with their latest release that they still are one of those acts to whom the words are just as important as the music. But those words have gone for a spin here. Boots Riley has picked his bigger weapon; it’s the intervention of fun into obsessively political music.
Boots Riley and the Coup are largely recognized as a phenomenally talented and almost overwhelmingly political crew. The Oakland heroes also represent a force in the underground community alongside persons such as Talib Kweli. On Pick a Bigger Weapon the group follows the lead of more commercially accepted acts by delicately stirring their rendition of crunk tracks with their more comfortable reign of political pieces.
Everything kicks off with a simple bouncing bass line immediately assuming a revolutionary stance with choral bursts of “we came to fight – it’s your disgrace, smash up your place, that’s just polite.” Boots puts an underground spin on trap music by illustrating the economic and lifestyle sacrifices of the unsuccessful dealer. Riley admits on “Laugh/Love/Fuck” that he lives to “laugh, love, fuck and drink liquor,” but yet again he drops a line to solidify his status as a political rapper with the following “and maybe make a revolution.” Bringing in fellow stars Black Thought and Talib Kweli for the once again movement crazed “My Favorite Mutiny” proves a musically justified move as the guests bring beautiful complimentary pitch variations with significantly less nasal vocal work. Boots Riley’s ability to assume a comedic tone throws listeners for a loop and yields impressive diversity to the disc. Such is the case on “Ass-Breath Killers,” a track dedicated to calling out suck-ups, sycophants, and ass-kissers.
However, Riley doesn’t always hit the mark with his lyrical prowess. In fact, oftentimes he misses it by a fairly large margin. An otherwise impressive track, “Head (Of State)” lets somewhat clichéd but still acceptable lyrics like “war ain’t about one land against the next, it’s poor people dying so the rich cash checks” prove entirely futile efforts as childish lashings “Bush and Hussein together in bed, giving h-e-a-d head” effectively ruin the track. It’s at times like this when Riley’s creativity drops off where political attempts fall flat and lose all pop. When this occurs the entire song proceeds to lose its appeal.
Musically, a lack of focus lets the album as a whole hone in on the lyrics as the unifying factor. The beats present and the crew’s incredibly tight, cohesive musical accessorizing which often showcases more traditional instruments over turntable work allow for Riley to churn out one hit after another. But incredible stylistic indecision destroys any notion that this CD plays out as an album as opposed to a collection of singles.
The Coup does show an impressively decisive disposition as they get straight to the point in each of their songs. They hardly ever circumlocute, but rather state their intentions at the outset by introducing a beat to lurk throughout the whole of the song at its very inception. As is vocalized by a female companion on “ShoYoAss,” the listener easily declares “ooh that’s it – that’s my song” when background music first kicks in. This elimination of unnecessary foreplay proves one of the most redeeming qualities of Pick a Bigger Weapon; fans appreciate not having to deal with stereotypical skit interference at regular, frequent intervals.
The Coup shows with their latest release that they still are one of those acts to whom the words are just as important as the music. But those words have gone for a spin here. Boots Riley has picked his bigger weapon; it’s the intervention of fun into obsessively political music.