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Date of Review: March 14, 1999

Artist: The Coup

Album: Steal This Album

Year of Release: 1998

Genre: Political, West Coast/Bay Area Hip-Hop.

Producers: Boots Riley (every track but one), Pam the Funkstress, Edifice from Soulfuric Nation, Brother K.

Tracks: 14

Year of Release: 1998

LYRICS: 9

FLOW: 10

MESSAGE: 10

BEATS: 10

ORIGINALITY: 7

HYPE: 6

CONSISTENCY: 9

SCORE: 90%

Artist: Aceyalone (accompanied by Mumbles)

Album: A Book of Human Language

Genre: Underground, skills-based, intellectual Hip-Hop.

Producers: Mumbles.

Year of Release: 1998

LYRICS: 10

FLOW: 9

MESSAGE: 9

BEATS: 8

ORIGINALITY: 9

HYPE: 4

CONSISTENCY: 9

SCORE: 87%

Who's the Best in the West?

As you may or may not remember, in my review of Ras Kass's ultra-disappointing Rasassination, I lamented the fact that Ras, one of my favorite rappers, had sold out. So, I decided to pick a new favorite California emcee. I narrowed it down between Boots of The Coup and Aceyalone, and decided that I'd pick who was more dope after I heard both of their new albums: Steal This Album and A Book of Human Language.

Well, I ended up getting Book of Human Language for Christmas, while I hunted down Steal This Album early in '99. So, who's better, Boots or Acey? Well, first, let me tell you a little about each artist.

Boots is the frontman of The Coup, which formerly consisted of himself, rapper E-Roc, and DJ Pam the Funkstress (since their last album, E-Roc left the group, however). To tell the truth, I don't own a copy of their first album, Kill My Landlord . . . if anyone wants to hook me up with a copy, though, I'd be very grateful. Anyway, though, I do own their follow-up record, Genocide and Juice. And I love it. It's just an awesome album, easily one of the dopest West Coast albums of the decade. And while the group consisted of three members, make no doubt about it: Boots WAS The Coup. His lyrics, always of a political nature, were untouchable, as was his amazing flow. Seriously, Boots was like Chuck D, Snoop Dogg, and Too $hort, all wrapped into one (yes, I do have a lot of respect for Too $hort . . . not my favorite emcee, but he is a very important, influencial pioneer): A smooth-flowing, politically-minded, expert story-teller. About that political nature, though . . . The Coup wasn't just trying to make some progression, like most political rap acts. These guys were true red-blooded revolutionaries, giving props to Marx and Mao as much as Malcom and Martin. Their message certainly wasn't for everybody, but I always have to give props to anyone that writes songs about what they believe in, so The Coup got serious points from me. The fact that it was all done with pure dopeness made Boots and The Coup respectable Hip-Hop heroes in addition to politcal spokesmen. Of course, they couldn't be complete without dope beats, and The Coup certainly had plenty of those . . . the multi-talented Boots also produced practically all of the songs. His production style included elevating the funk of Dr. Dre and slightly turning down the noise of the Bomb Squad, coming up with fonke, fonke results. All in all, The Coup were one of the best rap groups of the 90's, all because of Boots.

Now, Aceyalone is a totally different cat. While Boots is rough and rugged, Acey's replaces those raps with refinement. Hailing from the southern Cali underground scene gives him a very different sound than the Bay area Coup . . . while The Coup could be somewhat compared to rappers like E-40 or Mac Mall (at least as far as style and presentation go), Acey's much more similar to the Hieroglyphics, in particular, Del (they have very similar voices and flows, in fact). The politically-minded message of Boots is replaced by Acey's personal philosophy: dealing more with the inner reaches of the human mind, as well as issues within the Hip-Hop community (dissing fakers, keepin' it real, etc). His debut album, All Balls Don't Bounce, is looked at as a classic by some . . . but I think it's a bit overrated (only by the underground . . . it was majorly slept on by the general public). Still a very dope album . . . Acey got deep and philosophical, but also wasn't afraid to get silly (on songs like "Annalilia"), or take out the wack emcees (on "Mic Check"). The beats weren't bad, but couldn't match Acey's lyrics.

So, who's better, The Coup or Acey? Which is the better album, Steal This Album or A Book of Human Language? Well, first of all, I have to say that both of these are must-buys. Now that that is out of the way, I have to say that Steal This Album is just a tad bit tighter than Book of Human Language. But, I'd still say that Acey is a slightly doper emcee than Boots. Let me explore the albums a little more, though.

Steal This Album moves a little slow, and at first listen may seem slightly disappointing to fans of The Coup's hardcore style. Don't give up, keep listening. After maybe three spins, it becomes apparent that Steal This Album is an all-time classic, better than nearly anything else out there. The beats are among the best you'll hear anywhere nowadays, as Boots hits you with soulful, funky tunes full of powerful bass. This is definitely something you can ride to.

The message on the lastest offering by The Coup is really what sets it apart, though. How often, if ever, is there a rap group that you can tell practices exactly what they preach, never wavers from their ideals, never succombs to hypocrisy? That's The Coup. As I said, I don't necessarily agree with everything Boots preaches on the album, but I give him mad props for sticking with what he believes in. Of course, a strong message doesn't always mean a dope album (see Sista Souljah's weak debut), but Boots comes with mad lyrical skills, which fit perfectly on top of the above-mentioned incredible beats. His flow is just plain nice, coming as close to perfection as pretty much anyone you'll hear nowadays. I definitely dig the whole West Coast style of flowing, as some of the nicest-sounding emcees of all-time have come from Cali (Snoop Dogg, Warren G., etc.). Boots keeps it real by coming correct with an amazing flow, but also bringing lyrics that not only get you hype, but give you something to think about, as well.

As if Boots could have possibly needed any help, there are also some nice guest-spots on Steal This Album. His former partner in rhyme, E-Roc, shows up on "Breathing Apparatus" and the chemistry is still magic. Vexx the Vortex of Boogiemonsters (quite possibly the most underrated emcee on the planet) reminds me of why I thought he was something special on "U.C.P.A.S." His mellow flow contrasts nicely with Boots's ruggedness. And, of course, Del the Funkee Homosapien does a great guest-spot on "The Repo Man Sings For You," bringing nice lyrics as well as a hilarious chorus (you've gotta hear it to believe it).

There are just so many dope cuts on Steal This Album. My favorite is probably "Me and Jesus the Pimp in a '79 Granada Last Night," as it's definitely the deepest as far as subject matter goes, and Boots shows that he might be the best story-teller of all-time. "The Repo Man Sings For You" has quite possibly the fonkeest bassline I've ever heard (I actually think the same one was used on a song by Silkk the Shocker, but it's a lot easier to listen to Boots and Del than wack-ass Silkk and Master P), and the chorus makes me laugh no matter how bad of a mood I'm in. There are just so many dope tracks on here, that you have to buy, *ahem*, steal this album (I don't support shoplifting, but get this album any way possible).

Acey's album is a completely different story. It's also incredibly dope, but for different reasons. Acey just gets deep. And abstract. And plain ol' bugged out weird. Not weird in a sick or messed up way, like Kool Keith, Prince Paul, or Eminem, but weird as in he just has bizarre things to say, as well as a bizarre style of rapping. He isn't quite as goofy as he once was, as his topcs are very serious -- but he somehow seems to be even stranger than he used to be. That's a good thing, though; we need more rappers like that. Acey comes across as one of those weird intellectual-types, someone that spends all his time in coffee houses thinking about the universe and whatnot. From his lyrics, you can tell that he thinks that he knows the meaning of life. And who can really tell him that he's wrong?

Song topics are vague, but deep. "The Hold" demonstrates this best, by poetically speaking on the human nature of trying to hold onto everything (life), when sometimes, it might be best to just let go. On "The Guidelines," he talks about his "attempts to redefine your Hip-Hop guidelines," and that's exactly what he does.

The beats, while not in the same league as those on Steal This Album (not similar at all, actually), have certainly improved a great deal since Acey's first album. Mumbles does all the tracks here, and his beats are almost as odd as Aceyalone's rhymes. I'm not sure what I could even compare these sounds to . . . they're just weird. But dope.

So, it looks like you all have two album that you need to go and buy (or steal) right away, if you're a true head. Beware, though; these are pretty "underground" and therefore might be hard to find. If you only have big chain music stores around you, good luck trying to find The Coup or Aceyalone. I strongly recommend going to Sandbox to pick this ish up.

So, get going. As I said, you need these two albums.
---Steve Clark