The Coup - Fat Cats, Bigga Fish (Explicit)

From the 1994 album: "Genocide & Juice"
The Coup is an American hip hop band from Oakland, California. Their music is an amalgamation of influences, including funk, punk, hip hop, and soul. Frontman Boots Riley's revolutionarily-charged lyrics rank The Coup as a renowned political hip hop band aligned to radical music groups such as The Clash, Dead Prez and Rage Against the Machine.[according to whom?]
The Coup's music is driven by assertive and danceable bass-driven backbeats overlaid by critical, hopeful, and witty lyrics, often with a bent towards the literary. The Coup's songs critique, observe, and lampoon capitalism, American politics, white patriarchal exploitation, police brutality, marijuana addiction, romance, working at fast food places, and disparities among race and class.
The Coup's debut album was 1991s The EP and almost all of the songs on it (except "Economics 101") were put on 1993's Kill My Landlord. In 1994, the group released its second album, Genocide & Juice. The group took a four-year recording hiatus to work as community activists before releasing Steal This Album to critical acclaim in 1998. The record's title pays tribute to 1960s radical Abbie Hoffman's yippie manifesto, Steal this Book. Steal This Album featured the stand-out single, "Me and Jesus the Pimp in a ’79 Granada Last Night." The online magazine Dusted called Steal This Album "the best hip-hop album of the 1990s".
Party Music and post-9/11 aftermath
In 2001, The Coup released Party Music to widespread praise. However, in part because of distribution problems, sales of the album were low. The original album cover art depicted group members Pam the Funkstress and Riley standing in front of the twin towers of the World Trade Center as they are destroyed by huge explosions, and Riley is pushing the button on a guitar tuner. The cover art was finished in June 2001 and the album was scheduled to be released in mid-September. However, in response to the uncanny similarity of the artwork with the September 11, 2001, attacks, the album release was delayed until November of that year with the cover featuring a hand with a flaming martini glass.
The attention generated concerning the album's cover art precipitated some criticism of the group's lyrical content as well, particularly the Party Music track "5 Million Ways to Kill a CEO." The song's lyrics includes lines such as "You could throw a twenty in a vat of hot oil/When he jump in after it, watch him boil." Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin cited the song in calling the Coup's work a "stomach-turning example of anti-Americanism disguised as highbrow intellectual expression."[3]
Mid-2000s
On November 15, 2005, Tarus Jackson (AKA Terrance), who had joined the group as a promoter, was fatally shot during a robbery at his home in Oakland.
December 2, 2006 saw another tragedy for the Coup: About two hours following a performance at the San Diego House of Blues, the tour bus in which the group was riding drove off the road and flipped over before becoming engulfed in flames. All passengers managed to climb out alive, although some were badly injured. The group did, however, lose all of its clothes, computers, cash, identification, house/car keys, cell phones, all of its instruments, and sound equipment. Since an insurance settlement was a long time coming, the group was forced to cancel the rest of its tour.
The group’s songs "My Favorite Mutiny" and "Pork & Beef" were featured in the 2007 film, Superbad, with the former also being featured in the HBO miniseries 24/7 Flyers-Rangers, as well as in the video game NBA Live 07, while "Ride the Fence" was featured in EA's 2007 skateboarding video game Skate. The song “Captain Sterling’s Little Problem” accompanied the closing credits of Sir, No, Sir, a documentary about the GI anti-war movement.
Recent activity
The Coup's sixth album, a concept album entitled Sorry to Bother You, was released on October 30, 2012, to wide acclaim. The first track, "The Magic Clap", was leaked by the band themselves and posted below an article on August 13, 2012.
Sorry to Bother You was inspired by a screenplay written by Riley, "a dark comedy with magical realism" that drew inspiration from his time spent working as a telemarketer. The film's screenplay was published by McSweeney's in 2014. Riley was able to secure funding to turn the script into the film Sorry to Bother You, which was released in theaters by Annapurna Pictures on July 6, 2018. The film, which follows a young African-American telemarketer who adopts a white accent in order to thrive at his job, stars Lakeith Stanfield, with Armie Hammer, Tessa Thompson, Terry Crews, and Danny Glover in supporting roles. Having taken six years after their last album, The Coup recorded a full soundtrack to the film, entitled The Soundtrack to Sorry to Bother You, and released the first single, "OYAHYTT (feat. Lakeith Stanfield)", on July 13, 2018.

[@Twizzledoc187]

I’m ashamed that I didn’t catch the meaning of this video back in 1996 until I watched it again today. Fat cats and bigga fish. He’s telling a story and showing himself robbing a dude and hustling for free food at a restaurant only then to discover that his little hustle is NOTHING compared to the big fat corporate execs. This video was so simple and creative. All black and white, no special effects. Just dope lyrics, story telling and a powerful message. THIS is hip hop!!!

[@drdread9896]

I thought this came out before 96

[@zyxia6165]

@@drdread9896 '96 could just be when they first saw it not necessarily when it came out

[@kwhsing22]

YALL!! That’s my dad. The old white guy who plays the owner of Coke. No joke. Love him so much for this

[@zachle591]

That’s sick

[@randomtask5420]

Nah uh that was my dad!

[@Andrey_SamZnaeshKakoi]

Great cameo

[@alnabulsi313]

Your dad played a GREAT bad guy 😂

[@greatscott414]

Awesome!!!!! Yeah he's a real one for this!

[@Playam]

That last verse, breaking down corporate greed, amazing.

[@JilmM7936]

An all-time classic verse. It's a shame more people don't know The Coup.

[@NordicWildSoul]

The Coup exposes the power structures of the American oligarchy, respect true knowledge!

[@drdread9896]

King Hannibal rap

[@dylankennedy3256]

Idk what the intent behind the lyrics are but the first and second verse are really important with the context of the third verse. Like Boots is struggling and using folks specifically because of Mr Coke and Mr Mayors deal making life harder for residents

[@carlosrojas4427]

PAM THA FUNKSTRESS YOU WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN 415eYe$Low Eeerrryy sup BOOTS.

[@dimex3362]

Literally one of the dopest rap songs of all time. This s*** put me ON GAME. Its up there with “the message” for me.

[@stevezepke2213]

💯

[@yvetteaf90803]

So clean Redman and Mef sampled it 😍 I think?

[@marxman300]

​@yvettefarris9940 yes they used it for cereal killer but original sample is george & gwen mccrae - the rub

[@yvetteaf90803]

@@marxman300 thanks! Never heard that. Have to check it out.

[@marxman300]

@yvettefarris9940 no problem 😎

[@IceManLikeGervin]

The Coup (Boots Riley, E Roc, T KASH, DJ Pam The Funkstress) is an underrated, underappreciated hip hop group- word up!! RIP DJ Pam The Funkstress aka Purple Pam

[@VBaskin2010]

She's passed away? How?

[@IceManLikeGervin]

She had an organ transplant awhile ago and reportedly died of organ failure. She was Prince's personal DJ over the past decade or so as well. She used to DJ his private parties, after parties and the like...

[@shenglongisback4688]

:( damn dj in peace Pam

[@seanhall5255]

Fly High Pam

[@scoobydooo5364]

She had breast cancer Pam I know the whole group

[@floydalexander4318]

The art of story telling. One of the best ever done in the history of rap.

[@postshanna]

The street light reflects off the piss on the ground Which reflects off the hamburger sign as 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? DAMN!! boots is a legend

[@dimex3362]

Such a dope lyric. So many in this song... “And oh, um, waiter can you bring the champagne” soooooo dope.

[@thgeremilrivera-thorsen9556]

That one hits so hard

[@agentanti-orange8064]

Last verse is happening in a hood near you right the Fluck now. Real talk. It's called GENTRIFICATION

[@dadaismotienekasepta]

I've seen gentrificatio (or sum close to it)n near my house (actually like 20 mins by walking). A once working class neighborhood which all of sudden got full of fancy supermarkets, giant departament buildings, suburban like homes and rich people walking around everywhere while the rest of the hood still struggling. Of course, now it's way more expensive to live in there even if yyoure one of the original residents of that hood. Damn i wouldnt be surprised if their houses get demolished just to build more fancy buildings for the new rich pricks arriving

[@John6ix]

Song rings more true in 2021 then it ever did. Boots and Pam, Oakland legends. Wish the video had all the verses though.

[@rossoriordan2]

25 years listening to hip hop and it keeps giving This is beyond slick

[@marcuswhite652]

I've been looking for this for years

[@mstrwood8813]

Yeah this song is unreal! Flow, lyrics, story telling, the beat, the video, all of it...

[@2Faded247]

Last Verse! Went over my head as a kid

[@EXTRABLK]

The art of story telling💯☝🏾

[@franglish9265]

Underappreciated Musicians... They should be at the top of the charts

[@jhall9602]

You’ll never see shit like this again kids. Classic 90’s!

[@cookieman9994]

This is real Hip-Hop because he’s dropping knowledge that stands the test of time.

[@POObumpoopo]

Great album from an underrated group. This track was used in a sweet little 90s NYC film called The Daytrippers.

[@bryanwilson4485]

Boots Riley is one the greatest of all time

[@indyskater19]

I just wish they did a video for the full song, theres so much story that got left out

[@carlweston4808]

"we got a process like Ice-T's hair"...I love that line.

[@lamaelaphoenix6840]

Nah his hair is natural.

[@GrimWare_3QpkRcAU....]

@@lamaelaphoenix6840 At the time when this came out "94-95" Ice T was rocking some curls as in jheri and it was definitely processed, his natural hair is a fro.

[@z-9693]

Word!

[@seanhall5255]

The Record labels didn't like the THE COUP,Bcuz they talked that Real from the Jump! FLY HIGH PAM

[@johnramos1287]

I STILL bump this and the rest of the album. The whole thing would make a great movie or at the very least a soundtrack

[@FunkFight1]

You do know that boots Riley makes movies now, right?

[@TheStowAway594]

Love this track, the beat and those samples are so dope, and then you got that amazing flow! Absolute classic, it's a real shame so many slept on it.

[@baleberguista503]

So ahead of its time. 👊🏾

[@anonymousunnamed3026]

They left out one of the verses: I use people before they use me, cuz you can get got by an uzi over an oz, that's what an OG told me.

[@korymacdowell7615]

90’s Childhood memories from the bay! Yeeeeeeeeee!

[@kevinsamuels3140]

The coup was so underrated.💯

[@morebrownrice1525]

Ive never heard of The Coup ,and this is real hip hop, very good flow🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@1diggitech]

People kinda slept on them.They were nice as u see👍

[@rocketrichard2625]

Just checked- still nice!

[@UNDERGROUNDskateco]

Real shit right here shout out rapper and director Boots Riley and of course RIP Pam the Funkstress

[@shymultimedia]

I was looking EVERYWHERE for this song, for YEARS. It wasn’t until I googled the lyric “Her breath was like murder” that I found this song and video!!!😂😂😂

[@NWJF]

The Coup was criminally ahead of their time. The Town was always ahead of the game. I swear, Oakland gets props but we dont talk about what The Bay did for Hip Hop enough.

[@andresams4960]

R.I.P Pam!!

[@DJLNR.]

3:12 Alright then let's begin this, nights like this is good for business.. Lyrics and flow, this is what makes me remember this track is the correct version.

[@texasmike77]

Yo how have I barely heard of this group ! Let alone this song the last verse blew my mind!

[@MyEyesWithin]

Plenty rappers rap about bougie shit. Making about cars, houses, women and other empty dreams of capitalism. But Boots keeps it real talk class conscious, racism, and other things that matters.

[@rayjross1100]

Back when music videos where more cinematic Old school West Oakland Lower Bottom. I remember this video coming on Box.

[@RDoubt96]

Wow. The subject matter. They dove DEEP.

[@kurtrobertson495]

The art of story telling, that hip hop

[@simondewitt7161]

I hate it, no one with a giant face tattoo and rainbow hair rapped about guns, drugs or ass. How will I know Coup are good rappers if I dont know how big and expensive their chains are?

[@GrimWare_3QpkRcAU....]

@@simondewitt7161 Man this was the epitome of almost underground 90's HIP HOP FR, They had some commercial success but this whole tape is about daily struggle........... Did I just date myself LOL.

[@ginsengchickensoup]

The Coup alwas original and funky with an extraordinary skill of rhyming!

[@swaggerguru]

Classic.

[@naughtymonkey1563]

Someone gave me a cassette in high school in 94 or 95.. I thrashed that tape to literal death. It had Too Short on one side and this album on the other. It took me 20 years to find out what this was. The Coup!! Underrated as all hell, this entire album is straight up dope.

[@kAEAHZ]

Still banging in 2021

[@reapercult7971]

the dude rich dude at the end could spit bars tho

[@vittorio5248]

I had fun making this video 🤗🤗🤗🤗

[@bruh4004]

great video bro

[@yorkie1792]

2:49. Best smooth lyrical flow ever "Fresh dressed like a million bucks, I be the flyest modaflocker in an afro wearing a tux" " my arm is at a right angle up silver tray in my hand...🍾🥂, May I interest you in some cavier mam" 😊😊😊😊

[@jammie6870]

Timeless.

[@PeekaBooo23]

R.I.P. Pam the Funkstress. She was a very SICC DJ

[@envyops]

So slept on.

[@nelsonsaunders6449]

PAAAAAMMMMMMM ! REST IN PEACE!

[@corywilliams458]

Still Dope 2023...iz that Suga T??😊

[@RONDOG-bs4zb]

Yes

[@jeffb4762]

I was 14 when this dropped!!! I was in love with hip hop! Town business 🌳 🌉🌉 the suga T cameo tho 🔥🔥

[@soren_prod]

Yay you’re uploading more

[@algorithmshit4987]

I've been waiting to hear this. Keep it up!

[@wtfyoulookinatmane5013]

Masterpiece

[@andrepotts4493]

A goddam underground classic

[@leffphield]

Those violins.

[@ingsoc8888]

I just found this channel i only came for the song "Damn it feels good to be a gangsta"

[@antoniogambardella785]

the classic hip-hop 🔥💣🔝🙏👊✌💪🎵🎤🎙🎶

[@DJLNR.]

If many of you actually was alive or heard this when it first came out ya wouldn't post dunce comments.. For the record this is a million times better than anything of today. So.. sit down sit down sit down and shut it.

[@westwardpomonagyrl4358]

Well damn!! Informative as hell,who would ever know,he’s the brains behind such a movie!! That’s fuckn phenomenal!!

[@user-vw6wu7bn6d]

Still rocking in 2023

[@The3DSMaxinator]

I cried at the part of the verse where "her breath was like murder" @2:08

[@MrGanjaBandits]

I grew up on this shit! Thank you !

[@apocrypha5363]

The new generation is waking up to the evil of vulture-capitalism, I hope they rediscover The Coup. This music deserves to be appreciated.

[@chrisjohnson-kr7oj]

Thank you Boots for putting me on to game since 1994!

[@beeoakclifftexascraig5706]

3:22💯💯💪🏾💪🏾

[@juliocortez5209]

it doesnt get any better than this...🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@Nintenerdo]

It took me 3 years to find this song

[@TheBoomBoxGuru]

I just noticed JT The Bigga Figga is in this video.

[@TheMaddBlackMann]

That was Suga T at the fast food joint

[@sanusisopinionandthoughts6776]

Oh the 90’s when most of the MC’s /rappers had lyrics, integrity, knowledge, even if they were on some street gangster ish, you had to have nice beats and lyrics.

[@stevezepke2213]

Awesome song!!! on that Slick Rick Level 💯

[@mikecooper4070]

Thank you for this track. Proper buzzin off this right now, gave me goosebumps. Would love collab one day if possible. Much love to you all

[@megheshpansari1594]

A sociological presentation on deviance from individualistic to systemic. Amazing.

[@YazidGouri]

toooop thank you

[@jtdollarfitness3048]

That's my Father in this Video I remember us all watching this on The Box back in the day my Dad is the guy next to Suga T at Giant Burgers

[@Ant-speakingfacts]

Get down get down get down🎵🎶🎵🎶

[@mesarvagya777]

You know a song is classic when like to dislike ratio is not even 1%

[@accthackedSoundsAstound]

Indeed!🎼🎤🎶💟✊🏾🎧💯

[@leroygreer7755]

DOPE CLASSIC

[@nicelydunwell5681]

2 favorite lyricists: Jackson Browne & Boots Riley

[@juanrockone]

Came back to watch the first time I was exposed to Boots Riley. Looking at this video you can see the genius of this man. Just watched his Amazon series 'Im a Virgo' and I loved 'Sorry to Bother You' Can't wait to see what's next.

[@melin4ted_bookworm632]

Yes I binged it like 3 times the other night!!! If you ask me, I think that the sequence at 1:59-2:32 where he's grabbing burgers and spitting game 2 the girl behind the counter might've lent some inspo 2 what was happening in part of the show's storyline 🤷🏾‍♀🤷🏾‍♀🤷🏾‍♀.

[@juanrockone]

@@melin4ted_bookworm632 I actually went back to this video to see if the burger place was also named 'bing bang burgers' There wasn't any indication but it was still fun to watch again. That girl he spits game to is Suga T, E40s sister.

[@gl0bal7474]

a masterpiece

[@ronaldrichardson4451]

I gota admit i slept on Boots and the Coup my brother was on them early and he tried to tell me they were dope but i was young back then and wasnt trying to hear it caught up in my east coast shit! But 20 30 yearslater that shit bangs and the flow is nice boots be spitting the video had me bugging shout out to all my Oakland west coast cats! peace

[@nowayarte]

This track is speaking true facts decades later. They warned us then and we still don’t listen today

[@LionPelt]

He’s a nickel and dime thief, and realizes there is billion dollar criminality going on. Awesome song.

[@carlospuentes66]

Damn! Boots cast a Bing Bang Burger employee that looks just like the one in this video. This brother is on some inception sh**!

[@zislec]

Oakland stand up

[@panocha662]

I LOVE IT

[@karl1970]

O love both the song and yhe Video. This Artist is very creative. His poetry is fine with its end rhyme scheme in esch stanza, its story telling

[@jaiisolo9230]

HE DIDN'T GET HIS SHINE IN THE RAP GAME. REAL OLD SCHOOL SH-T

[@rolltide2937]

Dam son what happened to hip hop!!!!!!! Hearing this makes me sad and mad at the shit they make now!!!!!!

[@meat2023]

Maybe you should actually listen hip hop

[@ReDNaLzz]

just open your eyes dude, this wasn't mainstream in the 90s either

[@TheNinja94a]

@@ReDNaLzz That's what they don't get-this music is so easy to access because of the internet, and as time progresses, more old shit will be uncovered and brought to the limelight. You know what people were listening to in the 90s? Can't touch this. Boy bands. Dance songs. They weren't listening to KMD, Kool Keith, or Company Flow. The internet allowed that stuff to be way easier to access-think about it like this-in the 90s, you'd have to go to a store. Find out if it has what you want. Buy the vinyl or CD. Go home-or, you'd have to turn on MTV or something-wait for the music video of the song you like to come on. Record it. Now all you have to do is search it up. Takes thirty seconds. My only problem is that artists aren't getting as much money as they used to from their music-then again, record labels were always stiffing artists, and if you were underground, you def weren't making that much money.

[@joeldavis5815]

Method Man & Redman-Serial Killer

[@marxman300]

And Brand Nubian - The Return Prod By DJ Premier

[@mr8figga1]

Been trying to figure out who else did this...lol

[@marxman300]

@@mr8figga1 😎👍🏾

[@wisdomwarrior2645]

The coup sample it first

[@enriquec3221]

And Keith Murray's get lifted

[@kcwise55]

Wow dude was ahead of his time..... good story! So many things I can say about this......my comment would be a whole page! Lol

[@younkint]

He still is ahead.

[@rocketrichard2625]

Say the things! Or save them until after his new series comes out

[@Sirraoul]

This is too gooood man

[@tokyojapantoyotacorolla4603]

Hollywood classic. This is hip-hop.

[@shottashabazz6721]

Seeing people sitting in a cypher drinking hood champagne(beer) and smoking 🦨 is some nostalgia for your azz. I miss the days of hanging out with my peoples from back in the day back when trusting somebody was the norm without the paranoia that comes with trusting at my age now. Had to cut a few people out of my circle that I considered cool but they showed me otherwise. Peace and Nuff respect to the few that didn’t cross me for money or some woman.

[@Torus2112]

Immediately We need some media heat

[@ulharr]

Damn, Uproxx, thanks for the 3 volume history in the description