Talk to me about being a voice of dissent in these times, when anyone who disagrees with the Bush administration is crucified as unpatriotic. They seem to forget America was forged from dissent!

I think what they’re doing is painting themselves into a corner. The reality is that, in the areas where there ISN’T dissent, it’s only because people are scared to speak out. All that does is breed unrest, even in their strongholds. We’ve performed in all kinds of places that are supposed to be Republican strongholds, and people are not down with this war. There’s a lot of soldiers that are not down with this war. Like you said, the only reason people aren’t speaking out is because they’re scared of how they’ll be painted. Pretty soon, people end up figuring out that they have to say something, because they’re not down with the people who try to breed that fear. I feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, utilizing my life and my art in the most effective way possible. I’m pushing boundaries, so maybe people don’t agree with everything that I’m saying. But the things they do agree with, I’m making it possible for them to say.

When you see people like Michael Moore and Kanye West standing up and speaking out, does it give you added confidence that you’re doing the right thing?

I’ve known from the beginning that this wasn’t a minority movement. They kinda hoodwinked everybody into support for the war. It was a shell game they did. Right after September 11, they said, “Fly your flag to show your sympathy for the victims of 9/11!” So everybody put their flags out because 3,000-plus people died. Then, when they decided to go to war, they said, “Look how many people are flying flags, showing their support for the war!” As soon as people figured that out, they were like, “Take that flag down!” So I’ve never thought that mine was a minority viewpoint in the United States, and definitely not a minority among people around the world. A very small percentage of people vote, and the reason is that the majority of people don’t think this system works for them.

Do you believe that art, music and film have the power to affect real sociopolitical change in the world.

Yeah, I think they prepare the soil for change. They’re a part of creating a culture, by putting ideas out there in the same way that a book can. And maybe even more effective in certain ways, because you’re getting to way more people.

Having followed your career for years now, “Pick A Bigger Weapon” feels like a big step forward for The Coup. From a creative standpoint, your message is very clear, and to me it’s the best politically charged funk record since Prince’s “Controversy.” Does this feel like your moment to shine?

Well, it’s really weird cuz we been doing this for a long time, and this is actually the biggest album we’ve had in our careers. There’s so much talk about it, and we’re doing a 10-week tour to promote it. We’ve never toured that long! The distribution is out there, the album is selling and we’ve got some big things planned for the fall, so I think this will be an album where a lot more people hear about us. I think it’s coming out in a period where people are figuring out how they’re gonna be involved in changing the world, and they’re looking for things like this to inspire them. So I do feel like it’s an important album.