“Boots” Riley was born on April 1, 1971 in Chicago, Illinois. Boots Riley is a rapper, screenwriter, filmmaker, director, and activist. He is currently most known for his directorial debut film, Sorry to Bother You, which takes place in Oakland, California.
He moved to Oakland with his family when he was six. It was in Oakland where his political and social consciousness began to take shape. In 1991, he founded the political hip-hop group called The Coup; he for years participated in a series of collectives and movements that catered to the political and social awareness of the US history of capitalism and the disenfranchisement of its own citizens, primarily of neighborhoods of color. He is specifically connected with the Occupy Wall Street movement and the labor movement.
In a video titled “A Ride Through Oakland With Boots Riley,” Riley situates defying capitalism as coming from a need to change the world but says “that doesn’t come from just not participating in it.” He also says that “the artists,” “the academics,” and “the executives” do the “brain work” of sustaining capitalism, and everyone else does the “grunt work.” The most revealing part of this short video is the imagery of neighborhoods in Oakland where black people are waiting for the bus, a black woman is pushing a stroller, and black children are running outside of their gates.
These images are synonymous with what he labels as “the streets,” and he continues to describe how it is necessary to use economic power (money) to shut down industries to bring about change. It is apparent in Riley’s commentary, the imagery of his car as he drives through Oakland, and his ruminations on capitalism, art, and politics that Oakland is his initial hub of concentration and meditation.
He has been associated with the Oakland Ensemble Theatre (run by his grandmother) and El Teatro Campesino. He joined the International Committee Against Racism and the Progressive Labor Party at fourteen. He studied film at San Francisco State University. Ventures include The Coup (1991), Street Sweeper Social Club (2005), and more recently Sorry to Bother You (2018).
Haunts:
- Hegenberger Road. Riley’s haunts include performances where he was on tour with his bands, The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club, or Galactic. In an interview with The Creator Class, he said that venues in the ’80s and ’90s didn’t cater to hip-hop acts. As a result, they rented out restaurants and halls throughout the city.
- Oakland Ensemble Theatre, 660 13th Street, Oakland, CA 94612.
~ by Mia Boykin ~
External Links:
Riley, Boots. “Boots Riley on How His Hit Movie ‘Sorry to Bother You’ Slams Capitalism & Offers Solutions.” YouTube, uploaded by Democracy Now!, 17 July 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdCPvMNKvhE.
—. “In conversation with Boots Riley, Director of ‘Sorry To Bother You.’” YouTube, uploaded by The Creator Class, 16 July 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3BJ9NfKynY.
—. “A Ride Through Oakland With Boots Riley.” Portside, 17 Aug. 2018, https://portside.org/video/2018-08-17/ride-through-oakland-boots-riley.
