Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

Boots Riley: The Coup, Sorry to Bother You, and more


Listen Later

We revisit our conversation with the writer-director and rapper Boots Riley. He's a founding member of the legendary hip hop group The Coup. The band's sound is politically-charged with a laid-back funk and has that classic Bay area cadence. His rhymes tell a story of his own life and deal with elements of social justice, poverty, racism. He's more than an artist. He's a long-time activist who uses his talents as a story-teller to move the needle forward in the world. In 2018 he made his directorial debut with the film Sorry to Bother You. It's a dark comedy that takes on late-stage capitalism, among other issues, head-on. Bootsy returns to Bullseye to talk about Sorry to Bother You, trying to find his style early on as both an individual and as a band member and how the narrative style of his song "Fat Cats, Bigga Fish" inspired his film career. Plus, he'll talk to us about how the very personal song "Underdog" helped him deal with the grief of losing a long-lost friend.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Bullseye with Jesse ThornBy Jesse Thorn

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

2,557 ratings


More shows like Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

View all
All Songs Considered by NPR

All Songs Considered

3,090 Listeners

NPR News Now by NPR

NPR News Now

14,166 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,583 Listeners

Jordan, Jesse, GO! by MaximumFun.org

Jordan, Jesse, GO!

3,334 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,174 Listeners

Pop Culture Happy Hour by NPR

Pop Culture Happy Hour

10,929 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,917 Listeners

WTF with Marc Maron Podcast by Marc Maron

WTF with Marc Maron Podcast

28,871 Listeners

Judge John Hodgman by John Hodgman and Maximum Fun

Judge John Hodgman

7,651 Listeners

The Sporkful by Dan Pashman

The Sporkful

3,892 Listeners

Here's The Thing with Alec Baldwin by iHeartPodcasts

Here's The Thing with Alec Baldwin

8,142 Listeners

Song Exploder by Hrishikesh Hirway

Song Exploder

5,925 Listeners

The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,654 Listeners

The NPR Politics Podcast by NPR

The NPR Politics Podcast

25,794 Listeners

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso by Lemonada Media

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

1,210 Listeners

Good One: A Podcast About Jokes by Vulture

Good One: A Podcast About Jokes

1,436 Listeners

Up First from NPR by NPR

Up First from NPR

55,995 Listeners

The Indicator from Planet Money by NPR

The Indicator from Planet Money

9,537 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

15,900 Listeners

Consider This from NPR by NPR

Consider This from NPR

5,961 Listeners

Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out by Mike Birbiglia

Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out

4,411 Listeners

Sleeping with Celebrities by John Moe

Sleeping with Celebrities

204 Listeners

Wild Card with Rachel Martin by NPR

Wild Card with Rachel Martin

617 Listeners