Sorry To Bother You

The Coup’s Boots Riley is an outlier in the hip-hop galaxy. In fact, beyond an outlier, Riley, is an outspoken Marxist and a bona-fide insurrectionist engaged in a world of celebrated Cristal-sipping commercialism.

Riley is a dissident of the new world’s great divergence of have and have nots, and Sorry To Bother You is the latest in The Coup’s open calls to down tools and grind the economic status quo to a halt.

Bristling with revolutionist rhetoric, Sorry To Bother You is a conceptual collection of relentlessly impudent songs, backed by The Coup’s heavy hitting funk and pep rally-style backing vocals.

The immediately striking evolution from The Coup’s last effort, 2006’s Pick A Bigger Weapon, is the use of live instrumentation over programmed drums and samples.

To this end, Riley has roped in the considerable talents of Fungo Mungo’s Damion Gallegos and members of the David Axelrod-inspired Jazz Mafia, who add a vitality to the album previously undiscovered in The Coup’s recorded output.

Guest spots are satisfyingly filled by the likes of Das Racist, Anti-Flag’s Justin Sane and subversive live art collective Japanther, making Sorry To Bother You a bright and lively affair.

Marking The Coup’s sixth studio album, this is a record of rugged determination, and while not quite reaching the benchmarks set by similarly politically charged hip hop records,  Sorry To Bother You is an attention-commanding affair, irrespective of whether you’re a self-identified 99%er or not.

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.

Subscribe to Rolling Stone magazine

Subscribe to Rolling Stone magazine