10 Most Underrated Hip-Hop Albums Of All Time
2. The Coup - Steal This Album
A hip-hop album that’s genuinely revolutionary, Steal This Album practises what it preaches, delivering a 60-minute invective that takes shots at American history, pimp culture, the drug war, and capitalism at large. Crucially, it does all this with amazing, witty lyrics and a soulful selection of classic-sounding analogue beats.
Fronted by Boots Riley (later the director of similarly motivated Sorry To Bother You), the record kicks off with the funky, bouncing “The Shipment”, a takedown of the DEA, but turns up a gear on “Me And Jesus The Pimp In A ‘79 Granada Last Night”. One of the best story songs ever written, it’s an immaculate 7 minute narrative about a young man and his father figure turned enemy.
Del tha Funkee Homosapien guests as a repo man before The Coup spit a heartfelt ode to the working people on “Underdogs”. There’s time for fun, too, with “Sneakin’ In” a brief celebration of getting your entertainment for free.
It’s remarkable that an album dealing with such heavy themes can be so fun; few but The Coup have ever really managed it.