Raymond Lawrence "Boots" Riley (born April 1, 1971) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, rapper, and communist activist.

[12] The video featured Riley singing the chorus while he, E-40 and Tupac Shakur reflected light into the camera from a handheld mirror while dancing around.

Fueled by video play and some radioplay for the single "Fat Cats and Bigga Fish", the album shot up the charts, but stalled when EMI absorbed Wild Pitch.

[15] 1998's Steal This Album, released on indie label Dogday Records, was called "a masterpiece of slow-rolling West Coast funk" by Rolling Stone magazine.

[16] The single, "Me and Jesus the Pimp in a '79 Granada Last Night", was an eight-minute song about the grown-up son of a prostitute driving his mother's killer to a secluded place in which to murder him.

The original cover art depicted group members standing in front of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center as they explode.

[19][20] Riley is depicted pushing a button on a bass guitar tuner and DJ Pam the Funkstress is shown holding conductor's wands.

The controversy surrounding the cover art, press release and the lyrics from Party Music (specifically the song "5 Million Ways to Kill a CEO") led to Riley appearing on local network news affiliates all over the U.S.

During this time, conservative commentator Michelle Malkin called Riley's lyrics "a stomach-turning example of anti-Americanism disguised as highbrow intellectual expression".

[22] In 2006, The Coup released Pick a Bigger Weapon on Epitaph Records, featuring guest appearances by Tom Morello, Talib Kweli, Black Thought from The Roots, and Jello Biafra.

[23] In 2003, guitarist Tom Morello invited Riley to be part of the "Tell Us the Truth Tour", which was meant to shed light on the monopolization of the media and the coming FTAA agreements.

[24] The tour, hosted by Janeane Garofalo and Naomi Klein, featured acoustic performances by Riley, Morello, Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, Mike Mills, and Jill Sobule.

[34] In 2012, Riley finished a screenplay for "an absurdist dark comedy with aspects of magical realism and science fiction", inspired by his own time working as a telemarketer.

[35] In 2017, he was able to begin production on his screenplay for Sorry to Bother You, directing it himself, with stars Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson and Steven Yeun.

[42] In 2000, Riley, through his workshop on Art and Organizing at La Peña Cultural Center, led a group of young artists to create "Guerilla Hip-Hop Concerts" on a flatbed truck which traveled throughout Oakland to protest California's Proposition 21.

[48] In February 2020, Boots announced his support for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2020 United States presidential election.