Connecting the black music tradition with the black activist tradition, Party Music brings both into greater focus than ever before and reveals just how strongly the black power movement was felt on the streets of black America. Interviews reveal the never-before-heard story of the Black Panthers’ R&B band the Lumpen and how five rank-and-file members performed popular music for revolutionaries.  Beyond the mainstream civil rights movement that is typically discussed are the stories of the Black Panthers, the Black Arts Movement, the antiwar activism, and other radical movements that were central to the impulse that transformed black popular music—and created soul music.

"Every line brims with the grit of the underdog, burns with rage and tenderness. It's no secret he is one of the most influential poets of this generation."--Jeff Chang, "Can't Stop, Wont Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation"

"Boots' lyrics contain the wit and satire to match their venom and potent political punch. His intricate yet relatable rhymes are like a combination of a Richard Pryor sketch and a guerrilla warfare manual."--Tom Morello, Rage Against the Machine

"Fact is, the brother's some writer. . . . Their low-slung rhythms imagine what might have happened if Reagan-era Prince had been less into getting some action and more into kicking up some activism."--"The Village Voice"

"Riley's rhymes work so well because they're more about real life than rhetoric. . . . It's the rare record that makes revolution sound like hot fun on a Saturday night."--"Rolling Stone"

Boots Riley has written lyrics as the frontman of underground favorites The Coup for two decades. An activist, educator, and emcee, Riley combines hip-hop poetics, radical politics, and the wry humor of the everyman. Including not-yet-released lyrics, photos, and backstories, here's an in-depth portrait of Riley's life and work.

A popular leader in the struggle for radical change through culture, Boots Riley is best known as the leader of The Coup, the seminal hip-hop group from Oakland, California, where he is an organizer and has been active in the Occupy movement. "Billboard" magazine declared the group "the best hip-hop act of the past decade."