Sorry to Bother You the movie is a surreal satirical comedy about telemarketers. It’s written and directed by Boots Riley, the front man for rap group The Coup. For those who aren’t familiar with their body of work, they’ve been around for a while. Their breakout video for the sample-based classic “Dig It” was in rotation on BET’s Rap City back in 1993.[1] Since then they’ve evolved into a full-fledged, hip hop funk band. But while the music has changed, the band has brought a witty, critique of the capitalist-machine throughout. They’re angry radicals who still like to party down and funk it up.[2]    

The movie is funny and provocative and is a natural extension of the music. Which makes even more sense considering there The Coup released a 2012 album called Sorry to Bother You that builds on the same themes as the movie.[3] And now there’s a movie soundtrack called Sorry to Bother You, also by the Coup, that features 9 new songs.

For those who want to keep the vibe of the movie going in musical form, which album is the better option? You’re probably going to want both, but for the sake of argument, let’s assume you’re a broke down phone drone who can only afford one. Here are the differences:

• The soundtrack has the movie’s end credits song “OYAHYTT”[4] featuring Lakeith Stanfield, aka movie protagonist Cassius Green. Spoiler alert—Cassius can’t rap, but Lakeith can. This is not that surprising considering Stanfield played Snoop Dogg in Straight Outta Compton.
• The 2018 soundtrack has lower percentage of rap and higher percentage of singing. The 2012 album is more up-tempo.
• Boots has his moments on the soundtrack, but there’s less of him than on the 2012 edition.
• The overall tone of the soundtrack is more pent-up tension; the earlier album is more cathartic party vibe.
• Two Janelle Monáe songs anchor the soundtrack. This is a good thing.
• The soundtrack is the album you could have on as background music at a party. The 2012 album demands more of your attention. It’s the better study-the-lyrics-with-your-headphones-on listening experience.  
• The soundtrack is the tighter album. But the 2012 album is more interesting. There’s a song called “Your Parents’ Cocaine”, with kazoos and vocals by Anti-Flag singer Justin Sane—it has a Clash vibe. “The Gods of Science” features a hook sung by someone who sounds a lot like David Byrne.[5]
• The 2012 album has the best song. It’s called “The Guillotine." It has an energized Boots and a cheerleader-style hook that goes “We are the guillotine. We are guillotine, you better run.” It also features some fierce female vocals from Silk-E who sings “Don’t talk about it. It’s not a show. Be about it. It’s about to blow.”     
• The 2012 album has more overt references to things in the movie:
• The first song “The Magic Clap”, includes the line: “Tell Homeland Security, we are the bomb.”*
• “Long Island Iced T” describes the joy of celebrating at the bar after shutting shit down and having “the boss irate."
• “WAVIP (We’re All VIP)” rails against 2nd class status in the club.[6]
• The 2012 album even includes a slow, spoken-word piece called “We’ve Got a Lot to Teach You, Cassius Green” It’s about monstrous creatures who’ve been enslaved by The Man.

So final call, which album should you buy? Well, even if you’re super-broke, you can still stream the soundtrack for just $8.99. But if money is no object and you can spend a whole $12.99, get the 2012 edition. But what you should really do is just go ahead and be the Power Caller you were meant to be so you can afford both. Just know that the worker friends you left behind are gonna need you to stand with them and burn ‘em some copies.  

[1] The video features 2 original members who are no longer with the band. E-roc, who left after the 2nd album to become a longshoreman (no shit) and Pam the Funkstress who passed away in 2017 at the age of 51. Pam also ran a successful catering business and appeared onstage with the Coup only at Bay Area shows in recent years. Pam was Prince’s personal DJ in his final months, DJing his after-parties. This sounds like maybe the coolest job ever.  

[2] One of their songs is called “Live, Laugh, Fuck. Lyrics—“I’m hear to live, laugh, fuck and drink liquor. And help the damn revolution come quicker.”

[3] The movie has been described as a kind of antidote to the Trump era, but it’s important to note that Boots was no fan of Obama or really any other establishment U.S. politician probably ever.

[4] Stands for “Oh Yeah, alright, Hell Yeah, That’s Tight”. Another consistent theme of The Coup’s 25 years is how much Boots loves acronym song titles.

[5] But isn’t. The vocals are actually by a guy named Bhi Bhiman, who’s been compared to Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springstein. The song also features some guitar from Living Colour legend Vernon Reid.

[6] Most quotable line courtesy of a guest rapper Killer Mike: “The 1% better learn to share the V-I-P, or we gon’ nut up, and everybody gonna d-i-e.