If you view the world through red-tinted glasses this album is not for you and you should stop reading right about now. Otherwise, read on.

Pick A Bigger Weapon has been on constant rotation since I picked it up last Thursday. Between the infectious bump of the beats and the fiery leftist politics tempered by moments of sly humor I was hooked. Riley is angry. His anger, unlike some, does not come out in rapid fire bursts of aggression, rather it slinks about offering backhanded compliments and pure snark with a gummy funk backdrop. He wears his politics on his sleeve and makes no apologies for his stance on US politics or culture, both of which he sees as destructive forces but ones that also allow for and nurture his viewpoints and creative freedom with him pinned in the middle of the dichotomy.

“We Are The Ones” sees Riley at his sharpest both lyrically and intellectually. He drops his lines in a mocking blue-blood accent leveling both barrels at the the materialistic drive of our culture and its destructive tendencies being fueled by the Horatio Alger myth of the self-made man. The words make for poignant reading but in delivery it steps up to another level where humor is had in does of cold bitter truth. Riley weaves an argument how circumstance and environment can lead people to paths of increasing desperation:

(first verse)
And I felt like an abandoned child
Left to fend for myself in the wild
While every courtroom, judge and gavel
were there to bury me under the gravel
Or at the bottom of the finest malt ale

(second verse)
As I clenched five digits on the forty-five
Barely down at the retail store I would detail more
But I don’t wish this action to be glorified
There was a plan I was eager to listen
To not sleep in the park in the fetal position

The commentary has been heard on many albums before and likely will be heard on many after but what sets Riley apart from the pack is his ability to capture a voice and have that carry the narrative from the beginning to the end of the song. In comparison to the Cristal-Lexus-Gat rhymes that dominate the programming of radio and MTV making his portrayal of street life all the more biting.

If the message proves to be to heavy at times solace can be taken in the fact that Riley and Pam The Funktress deliver something that you can get by just nodding your head to. The album is built on rubbery funk and soul lines that glide about effortlessly, from the dirty “ijuswannalayaroundalldayinbedwithyou” to the sweet “BabyLet’sHaveaBabyBeforeBushDoSomethin’Crazy” all the way to the retro-flavored bounce of “Ass-Breath Killers” and militant soul of “My Favorite Mutiny”, which features the rhyming talents of Talib Kweli and Black Thought. Additionally, The Coup teamed up with a number of industry luminaries ranging from Tom Morello to Toni! Tony! Toné!.

Pick A Bigger Weapon is an outstanding album and in contention for my Best of 2006 list. You can grab two free tracks from their website or just head over to eMusic or Amazon to grab the full album. Very highly recommended.