Boots Riley

Boots Riley is a rapper, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and activist whose work operates at the intersection of art and radical politics. Riley studied film at San Francisco State University before gaining recognition as the frontman of hip-hop groups The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club. He founded The Coup, serving as its chief lyric writer and music producer throughout its run. The Coup's album "Steal This Album" was described by Rolling Stone as "a masterpiece of slow-rolling West Coast funk." The group's album "Party Music" reached No. 8 in the Village Voice Pazz and Jop Poll, was named Pop Album of the Year by The Washington Post, and Hip-Hop Album of the Year by Rolling Stone. Later, Tom Morello approached Riley to form a band, which became Street Sweeper Social Club, and the duo released a self-titled debut album. Vibe Magazine named Riley one of the 10 most influential people of the year.

Riley's activism is central to his identity. In the same year he co-founded The Coup, he and other activists and hip-hop artists created the Mau Mau Rhythm Collective, which organized Hip-Hop Edutainment Concerts in alliance with community-based organizations such as Women's Economic Agenda Project, Copwatch, the Black Panther Alumni Association, and various anti-police brutality projects. Riley was involved with the Occupy Oakland movement and was a leader of the activist group The Young Comrades. He is frequently invited to speak at festivals and universities, connecting art with activism and engaging audiences on topics related to film, music, and social change. Riley also authored the published collection "Tell Homeland Security — We Are The Bomb."

Riley made his directorial debut with the film "Sorry to Bother You," an American science fiction black comedy that he wrote and directed. Riley described the film as "an absurdist dark comedy with aspects of magical realism and science fiction inspired by the world of telemarketing," drawing from his own experiences. The feature premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, was acquired by Annapurna Pictures, and achieved box office success and critical acclaim. The film holds a 93% Rotten Tomatoes rating and established Riley as a significant cinematic voice for examining capitalism and racial dynamics in the workplace. At the Independent Spirit Awards, Riley won the Best First Feature Award for "Sorry to Bother You" and received SFFILM's Kanbar Award.

Riley followed his feature debut by creating the television series "I'm a Virgo," a seven-episode surrealist comedy that premiered at South by Southwest and was released on Amazon Prime Video. "I'm a Virgo" was nominated for a Gotham Award and four Independent Spirit Awards. Riley also wrote and directed "I Love Boosters," a crime comedy starring Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Don Cheadle, and Demi Moore, which premiered at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival and was released theatrically in the United States by Neon. On Rotten Tomatoes, 92% of critics' reviews are positive, with the consensus calling it "a raucous capitalist critique" that "careens through the carefully-controlled chaos of writer-director Boots Riley's imagination to deliver a comedy that's as funny as it is thought-provoking." The film is inspired by a song of the same name from The Coup's album "Pick a Bigger Weapon."