The Coup is a band from Oakland, CA. Their music is an amalgamation of influences, including funk, punk, hip hop, and soul. Because of the lyrics of leader and frontman Boots Riley, they are often put into the category of political hip hop. The Coup is politically communist in its music and aligns itself with other radical music groups such as The Clash, Dead Prez and Rage Against the Machine.

The group's music is characterized by aggressive, yet danceable bass-driven backbeats overlaid by humorous, hopeful, and often witty lyrics- with a bent towards the literary- that critique, observe, and lampoon capitalism, American politics, patriarchal exploitation, police brutality, romance, working at fast food places, and being at cocaine parties with rich people, among other things.