• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

Dec 06, 2012 Web Exclusive By Austin Trunick

Oakland’s The Coup return with a new disc of socially aware hip-hop, six years removed from their well-received Pick a Bigger Weapon. Boots Riley and company haven’t lost their edge—or their sense of humor. Politically conscious without ever coming close to being overbearing, Sorry to Bother You gets its messages across plainly (taking on the education system in the punkish “Strange Arithmetic;” corporate meddling in scientific research in “The Gods of Science”) without preaching. These civic-minded numbers are broken up by a few genuine party bumpers, such as the album-closing “WAVIP” featuring Das Racist and Killer Mike, and the goofy “Your Parents’ Cocaine” (the twisted, Muppets-inspired video for the latter is a must-watch). The essence of Riley’s charm is that he’s incredibly intelligent but never too self-serious, unafraid to mix the funk into his fire. With only a couple weak tracks, Sorry to Bother You is a better-than-solid effort; more hip-hop albums should be this ridiculously fun. (www.facebook.com/thecoup)

Author rating: 7.5/10