Pick a Bigger Weapon

Pick a Bigger Weapon
Studio album by
The Coup
ReleasedApril 25, 2006 (2006-04-25)
Genre
Length65:13
LabelEpitaph Records
ProducerBoots Riley, Organized Elements
The Coup chronology
Party Music
(2001) 		Pick a Bigger Weapon
(2006) 		Sorry to Bother You
(2012)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The A.V. ClubA−[3]
Robert ChristgauA[4]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[5]
Pitchfork7.9/10[6]
PopMatters[7]
Slant Magazine[8]
Stylus MagazineC[9]

Pick a Bigger Weapon is the fifth studio album by American hip hop group The Coup. It was released on Epitaph Records on April 25, 2006. It peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart,[10] as well as number 35 on the Independent Albums chart.[11]

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 78 based on 25 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[1]

Rolling Stone named it the 49th best album of 2006.[12] ThoughtCo placed it at number 9 on the "Best Rap Albums of 2006" list.[13]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Bullets and Love (Introduction)"1:29
2."We Are the Ones"4:15
3."Laugh/Love/Fuck"3:46
4."My Favorite Mutiny" (featuring Black Thought and Talib Kweli)4:35
5."IJusWannaLayArounAllDayInBedWithYou"5:16
6."Head (of State)"2:48
7."ShoYoAss"6:20
8."Yes 'Em to Death"1:17
9."Ass-Breath Killers"3:00
10."Get That Monkey Off Your Back"3:11
11."MindFuck (A New Equation)"4:20
12."Two Enthusiastic Thumbs Down" (featuring Jello Biafra)1:15
13."I Love Boosters!"3:45
14."Tiffany Hall"4:24
15."BabyLet'sHaveABabyBeforeBushDoSomethin'Crazy" (featuring Silk E)4:23
16."Captain Sterling's Little Problem" (featuring Tom Morello)4:31
17."The Stand"6:37

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

The Coup

  • Boots Riley – vocals, claps, drum programming, production, recording, mixing
  • Pam the Funkstress – turntables

Additional musicians

  • Michael Aaberg – synthesizer (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10), piano (4, 5, 7, 11, 16, 17), clavinet (7, 10), organ (10, 17)
  • Steve Wyreman – guitar (1)
  • IRS – vocals (2)
  • Moses Kremer – guitar (2)
  • Uriah Duffy – bass guitar (2, 11, 15)
  • Oslem Asina – vocals (3)
  • Silk E – vocals (3, 15)
  • Reginald Brown – vocals (3)
  • Dawn-Elissa Fischer – vocals (3, 5)
  • Dave Council – bass guitar (3, 4, 10, 14), piano (13, 14), synthesizer (14)
  • James Henry – congas (3), percussion (4)
  • Black Thought – vocals (4)
  • Talib Kweli – vocals (4)
  • Rod Gadson – vocals (4)
  • Viveca Hawkins – vocals (4, 9)
  • Eric McFadden – guitar (4, 9, 10, 11)
  • David James – guitar (5, 11, 14)
  • Damion Gallegos – guitar (5), claps (5), recording
  • John Payne – bass guitar (5)
  • Damion Masterson – harmonica (5)
  • Ben Barnes – viola (5, 14, 15), violin (5, 14, 15), cello (14)
  • Rebekah Raff – harp (5)
  • Brian Collier – drums (5)
  • Degi Simmons – congas (5, 10)
  • Kween – vocals (6, 17)
  • Lawrence "L" Wiley – vocals (6, 16)
  • Elijah Baker – bass guitar (6, 7, 13, 17)
  • Reggie B. – vocals (7)
  • B'nai Rebelfront – guitar (7)
  • Dawud Allah – vocals (8)
  • Jordan Rode – vocals (8)
  • Butch – vocals (9)
  • Alina Hubbard-Riley – vocals (10)
  • stic.man – vocals (10)
  • Dawud Allah – vocals (12)
  • Jordan Rode – vocals (12), recording
  • Jello Biafra – vocals (12)
  • Jubu Smith – guitar (13, 14, 16)
  • Myron Glasper – vocals (13, 14)
  • D'wayne Wiggins – guitar (15)
  • Reginald Brown – vocals (16)
  • Tom Morello – guitar (16)
  • Vernon Hall – bass guitar (16)
  • Q Jackson – cymbal (17)
  • Cameron Hunt – guitar (17)
  • Pete Ortega – saxophone (17)
  • Isaac Tena – trumpet (17)
  • Organized Elements – drum programming (17), production (17)

Technical personnel

  • Matt Kelley – recording, mixing
  • Kenneth Hung – cover art

Charts

Chart Peak
position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[10] 24
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[11] 35

References

  1. ^ a b "Pick A Bigger Weapon by The Coup". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  2. ^ Kellman, Andy. "Pick a Bigger Weapon - The Coup". AllMusic. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  3. ^ Rabin, Nathan (April 26, 2006). "The Coup: Pick A Bigger Weapon". The A.V. Club. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  4. ^ Christgau, Robert. "The Coup". Christgau's Consumer Guide. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  5. ^ Hermes, Will (April 24, 2006). "Pick a Bigger Weapon". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  6. ^ Macia, Peter (May 17, 2006). "The Coup: Pick a Bigger Weapon". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  7. ^ Heaton, Dave (April 24, 2006). "The Coup: Pick a Bigger Weapon". PopMatters. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  8. ^ Newlin, Jimmy (April 23, 2006). "The Coup: Pick a Bigger Weapon". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  9. ^ Gaerig, Andrew (April 26, 2006). "The Coup - Pick a Bigger Weapon". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on January 8, 2011. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  10. ^ a b "The Coup: Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  11. ^ a b "The Coup: Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  12. ^ "Rolling Stone's Best Albums Of '06". Stereogum. December 14, 2006. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  13. ^ "The 100 Best Hip-Hop Albums of the 2000s". ThoughtCo. June 18, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2018.