Music The Coup In 1991, Riley founded the
political hip hop group
The Coup with
E-roc. Alongside rappers
Spice 1 and
Mopreme Shakur (then known as Mocedes), they released a song on a 1991 compilation album called
Dope Like a Pound or a Key, released by Wax That Azz Records. Group DJ
Pam the Funkstress joined the following year. Riley was both chief lyric writer and music producer of The Coup's albums. In 1992, The Coup signed to
Wild Pitch Records/
EMI, The video featured Riley singing the chorus while he, E-40 and
Tupac Shakur reflected light into the camera from a handheld mirror while dancing around. In 1994, The Coup released their second album,
Genocide & Juice, featuring guest appearances by E-40 and Spice 1. Fueled by video play and some radioplay for the single "Fat Cats and Bigga Fish", the album shot up the charts, but stalled when EMI absorbed Wild Pitch. At this point, E-roc left The Coup on amicable terms. 1998's
Steal This Album, released on indie label Dogday Records, was called "a masterpiece of slow-rolling West Coast funk" by
Rolling Stone magazine. The single, "Me and Jesus the Pimp in a '79 Granada Last Night", was an eight-minute song about the grown-up son of a prostitute driving his mother's killer to a secluded place in which to murder him. A novel,
Too Beautiful for Words by Monique W. Morris, based on the story characters and descriptions in the song, was published by
HarperCollins in 2000.
Del the Funky Homosapien guests on the track "The Repo Man Sings for You". The group's fourth album,
Party Music, was released on 75 Ark Records in 2001. It was re-released in 2005 by
Epitaph Records. The original cover art depicted group members standing in front of the Twin Towers of the
World Trade Center as they explode. Riley is depicted pushing a button on a bass guitar tuner and DJ Pam the Funkstress is shown holding conductor's wands. The photo was taken in May 2001, with the album scheduled to be released just after the
September 11, 2001 attacks. In response to the uncanny similarity of the artwork with the attacks, the release was delayed until an alternative cover could be prepared. The album hit No. 8 in the 2001
Village Voice Pazz and Jop Poll, was named "Pop Album of the Year" by
The Washington Post, and "Hip-Hop Album of the Year" by
Rolling Stone. The album included a guest appearance by
dead prez on the song "Get Up". Riley released a controversial press release on September 18, 2001, later published in the book,
Another World Is Possible. The press release stated that "last week's events were symptomatic of a larger backlash against U.S. corporate imperialism". The controversy surrounding the cover art, press release and the lyrics from
Party Music (specifically the song "5 Million Ways to Kill a CEO") led to Riley appearing on local network news affiliates all over the U.S. He appeared on
Fox News's
Hannity and Colmes and
ABC's
Politically Incorrect with
Bill Maher. During this time, conservative commentator
Michelle Malkin called Riley's lyrics "a stomach-turning example of anti-Americanism disguised as highbrow intellectual expression".
The Independent concluded it was "protest album of the year, by a million-man march". In 2006, The Coup released
Pick a Bigger Weapon on Epitaph Records, featuring guest appearances by
Tom Morello,
Talib Kweli,
Black Thought from
The Roots, and
Jello Biafra.
Work with Tom Morello In 2003, guitarist
Tom Morello invited Riley to be part of the "Tell Us the Truth Tour", which was meant to shed light on the
monopolization of the media and the coming
FTAA agreements. The tour, hosted by
Janeane Garofalo and
Naomi Klein, featured acoustic performances by Riley, Morello,
Billy Bragg,
Steve Earle,
Mike Mills, and
Jill Sobule. In 2006, Morello approached Riley to form a band together under the name Street Sweeper. The duo, who later changed their name to
Street Sweeper Social Club, releasing their self-titled debut album in 2009. They toured in support of it along with
Nine Inch Nails and
Jane's Addiction. On May 24, a press release went out announcing Street Sweeper Social Club as one of the headliners of the 2010
Rock the Bells tour. Street Sweeper Social Club released
The Ghetto Blaster EP in late July 2010.
Independent work In 1991, the same year Riley co-founded The Coup, he and other activists and hip hop artists created the Mau Mau Rhythm Collective. The Collective put on "Hip-Hop
Edutainment Concerts", which allied with and promoted the campaigns of community-based organizations like Women's Economic Agenda Project (WEAP),
Copwatch, International Campaign To Free
Geronimo Pratt, the
Black Panther Alumni Association, and various anti-police brutality projects. The Collective would use the growing popularity of their concerts to bring a large number of youth to take over a closed Oakland city council meeting and hold a public meeting. In 2007 and 2008, Riley toured heavily with New Orleans-based band
Galactic. The band performed The Coup songs behind Riley's vocals and they also performed their collaboration, "Hustle Up". In 2008, while performing with Galactic, police interrupted the concert and Riley was charged with using "abusive language"—a charge that had not been laid in 26 years, and never before against a performer. In 2010 and 2011, Riley recorded with on the album
I Will Not Take "But" for an Answer, and toured with the group in France.
Filmmaking In 2012, Riley finished a screenplay for "an
absurdist dark comedy with aspects of
magical realism and science fiction", inspired by his own time working as a telemarketer. He later secured financing to direct the screenplay and titled the film
Sorry to Bother You (2018), a name it shares with The Coup's
2012 album, which Riley produced instead of the film at the time due to financial issues. The film premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 6, 2018, by
Annapurna Pictures. The film received acclaim for its screenplay, direction, concept, and performances. In July 2018, Riley signed a television deal with Media Res. In 2021, Riley signed a two-year overall television deal with Media Res. He is currently working on a new film,
I Love Boosters, which is scheduled to be released in the United States on May 22, 2026. On January 11, 2026, Riley confirmed that he was working on a film adaptation of
Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play by playwright
Anne Washburn. == Activism ==