Boots Riley Biography
Boots Riley is a film director, producer, screenwriter, rapper, and communist activist from the United States. He is the lead vocalist of The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club. Sorry to Bother You marked his feature-film directorial debut, which he also wrote.
Where was Boots Riley born?-Age
He was born Raymond Lawrence Riley on April 1, 1971, in Chicago, Illinois, United States of America. Boots is 51 years old as of April 2022.
Boots Riley Height
Riley stands at a height of 5 feet 7 inches (1.71 m) tall.
Boots Riley Family – Walter Riley
Riley was born in Chicago, Illinois United States of America, to a family of social justice activists. He is the son of African-American attorneys Walter Riley and Anitra Patterson, whose father was African-American and whose mother was a Jewish refugee from Königsberg who fled Europe with her parents as a teenager in 1938. He is the eldest of five siblings.
Boots Riley Wife
Riley is in a relationship with musician Gabby La La. They have a child together.
Boots Riley Career
Riley and fellow United Parcel Service employee E-roc formed the political hip-hop group The Coup in 1991. With rappers Spice 1 and Mopreme Shakur, they released a song on Wax That Azz Records’ 1991 compilation album Dope Like a Pound or a Key. Pam the Funkstress, the group’s DJ, joined in 1992. Riley was the primary lyricist and music producer for The Coup’s albums. The Coup signed with Wild Pitch Records/EMI in 1992. In 1993, the band released its debut album, Kill My Landlord. Two singles from that album were played on national Black radio and on BET, Yo! “Dig It” and “Not Yet Free” from MTV.
Riley was invited to be a part of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello’s “Tell Us the Truth Tour” in 2003, which was intended to shed light on media monopolization and the upcoming FTAA agreements. Riley, Morello, Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, Mike Mills, and Jill Sobule performed acoustically on the tour, which was hosted by Janeane Garofalo and Naomi Klein. Morello approached Riley in 2006 about forming a band called Street Sweeper. The duo, later known as Street Sweeper Social Club, released their self-titled debut album in 2009. They supported it with a tour that included Nine Inch Nails and the recently reformed Jane’s Addiction.
Riley and other activists and hip-hop artists founded the Mau Mau Rhythm Collective in 1991, the same year Riley co-founded The Coup. The Collective organized “Hip-Hop Edutainment Concerts,” which allied with and promoted the campaigns of community-based organizations such as the Women’s Economic Agenda Project (WEAP), Copwatch, the International Campaign To Free Geronimo Pratt, the Black Panther Alumni Association, and various anti-police brutality projects. The Collective planned to use the growing popularity of their concerts to gather a large group of young people to take over a closed Oakland city council meeting and hold a public meeting. Riley composed the music for The Simpsons episode “Pranksta Rap” in 2005.
Riley began writing a screenplay in 2012 for “an absurdist dark comedy with elements of magical realism and science fiction,” inspired by his own experience as a telemarketer. He was able to begin production on his screenplay for Sorry to Bother You, which he directed, starring Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, and Steven Yeun. Annapurna Pictures released the film theatrically in the United States on July 6, 2018, following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2018. The cast and concept of the film, as well as Riley’s screenplay and direction, were praised. He has a new TV show called I’m a Virgo, which stars Jharrel Jerome. He had recently signed a contract with Media Res.
Boots Riley’s Net Worth
Riley has an estimated net worth of 3 million dollars.
Boots Riley’s Songs and Albums
- Kill My Landlord (1993)
- Genocide & Juice (1994)
- Steal This Album (1998)
- Party Music (2001)
- Pick a Bigger Weapon (2006)
- Sorry to Bother You (2012)
- Original Soundtrack: Sorry To Bother You (2018)
- Street Sweeper Social Club (2009)
- 1991 – Dope Like a Pound or a Key (Compilation)
- 1994 – “Streets of Oakland” from The Big Badass by Ant Banks
- 2004 – Zugzwang by Ursus Minor
- 2007 – “Hustle Up” from From the Corner to the Block by Galactic
- 2009 – “Soledad” from Este Mundo by Rupa & the April Fishes
- 2011 – “M M M”, “Get On With It” from I Will Not Take “But” for an Answer
- 2011 – “9/11 ’til Infinity” from From the Dumpster to the Grave by Star Fucking Hipsters
- 2011 – “Black Flags” (Single) by Atari Teenage Riot
- 2014 – “Pocket Full of Slave owners” (Single) by Muja Messiah
- 2014 – “Black Is Beltza” (Single) by Fermin Muguruza