It's been almost a decade since 9/11 -- which means (among other things) that it's been 10 years since Boots Riley was seemingly everywhere, coolly responding to outrage over someextremely ill-timed album art depicting explosions at World Trade Center. It's also been five years since the last album from the Coup, 2006's critically acclaimed Pick a Bigger Weapon.
But rest assured, the Oakland native has been busy. Aside from releasing and touring an EP and a full-length studio album with Tom Morello as the rap-rock outfit Street Sweeper Social Club, booking speaking engagements on racism, capitalism, and grassroots organizing, and guesting on the upcoming Star Fucking Hipsters album, Riley recently found time to write a feature-length screenplay before heading into the studio to record tracks for a new Coup album, due out at the beginning of next year.
Ahead of the Coup's Aug. 19 show at the Independent, we grabbed a drink with Riley to find out more about what to expect.