Boots Riley (The Coup)

Categories

world music

Racial Justice

Peace

organizing

music

Labour/Worker Rights

History

Hip Hop

Education

Documentary

DJ

Cultural Commentary

Community Building

black power

Africa

Activism

acoustic

Boots Riley is a co-founder of the politically powerful hip hop group the Coup, which became a cultural flash point after September 11 (Their album Party Music was to be released on 9-15-01 but was pulled because the cover depicted turntables in the foreground, and the exploding World Trade Center in the background - talk about bad timing!).

Riley’s activism – from local issues to international ones such as being an organizer of the World Conference Against Racism - has set the standard for political organizing among hip hop artists. The focus of Boots’ lectures uses a revolutionary class analysis to examine the relationship between the commercialization of hip-hop music and culture and US economic imperialism and racism. Boots takes audiences on an international journey through the less orthodox histories and movements of hip-hop, including a screening of Eating Forever - a short hip-hop travelogue Boots shot in South Africa during the “Black August” Hip Hop tour and the World Conference Against Racism, that focuses on Kwaito, a controversial movement of South African hip hop.

Boots draws on his two decades of creating radical social change in a lesson on approaching grassroots organizing through music and culture. From his history of student organizing in Oakland’s public schools, to serving on the central committee for the Progressive Labor Party, being the President of InCAR (International Committee Against Racism), and organizing to build California’s Anti-Racist Farm Workers’ Union, Riley has been an integral part of the progressive struggle for radical change through culture. He developed “guerrilla hip hop concerts” (mobile concerts on flat bed trucks) and produced “audio hip hop newspapers,” tens of thousands of which were distributed to the Oakland community. He co founded the Young Comrades in 1994, a politically oriented community group that staged free concert - rallies and dedicated itself to working on material reform issues.

This is an empowering and eye-opening opportunity to interact and strategize with one of the most influential and outspoken figures in the hip-hop community fighting for social justice today.

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For booking availability and press inquiries:
Please contact Boots Riley of The Coup's speaker agents at the Evil Twin Booking Agency.

email: Liz Cole and Scott Beibin [ info (at) eviltwinbooking (dot) com ]
+1.215.473.0308 | eviltwinbooking.com

Evil Twin Booking Agency p.o. box 30726 philadelphia pa 19104 usa

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