The Coup - "Me & Jesus the Pimp"

There's beauty in the cracks of the cement
When I was five I hopped over them wherever we went to prevent
whatever it was that could break my momma's back
Little did I know that it would roll up in a Cadillac

Why didn't I know that TSOYA listener / king of the rap nerds Noz started a new hip-hop video blog? It's as good as his long-running MP3 blog Cocaine Blunts & Hip-Hop Tapes, which is pretty much the place to be to hear some Hobo Junction single from 1992 and read some trenchant commentary about the little kid who's inexplicably rapping on it.

Anyway, one of the first videos that caught my eye in the collection was for The Coup's "Me & Jesus the Pimp in a '79 Grenada Last Night." I'm pretty sure I think this is the most emotionally powerful hip-hop track ever recorded. The first time I heard it, I cried.

The song, built around a live band and a sample from live Funkadelic 45, is a tragic one. A young man goes for a ride with his father -- a pimp who was recently released from prison. As they ride, the young man considers the values he learned from his father's prison letters, and re-evaluates where he stands in the world.

If you're familiar with the song, check out the video above. If you're not, and you're not experienced enough in the hip-hop world to follow lyrics closely, maybe you should hit play, and open the lyrics of the song in a new window (usually it's right click on the link - then "open in new window") so you can follow along.

The first few times I heard the song, I thought of it as a stirring personal story. The more I thought about it, though, the more I was convinced that Boots intended it as a socialist/feminist allegory -- a commentary on how capitalism mistreats women, and how men are so often complicit in that mistreatment. You might consider that the second or third time through.

Boots' gift as an MC isn't so much his politics, or his somewhat pedestrian Too Short meets Ice Cube flow. Instead, it's the masterful way he can wrap his Big Ideas in relatable terms. His rhetoric is touching... inspiring... even funny. Most "political rappers" traffic in big talk, The Coup traffic in little touches.

PS: if you run into the Coup, let Boots know their Marxist asses still owe KZSC $500. Long story.

PPS: Here's a paper I wrote about the Coup in college. It was quite some time ago, and I was 19, please be gentle.

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