Synopsis

Boots Riley and The Coup turn "We Are the Ones" into a direct, street-level rally. Riley performs the song while the video emphasizes the group's collective presence and confrontational energy rather than following a conventional storyline. The visuals echo the track's movement from autobiographical memories of poverty, hustling, and violence toward a broader call for working people to unite. Performance footage and quick-cut presentation keep the focus on momentum, attitude, and the song's militant chorus.

Factoids & Trivia

• "We Are the Ones" appears as the second track on The Coup's fifth studio album, *Pick a Bigger Weapon*, released by Epitaph Records on April 25, 2006.

• The song runs for 4 minutes and 15 seconds on the album.

• The video was posted online on June 12, 2006, during the early period when independent artists increasingly used YouTube to circulate music videos outside traditional television outlets.

• The recording features Boots Riley on vocals and Pam the Funkstress on turntables, with additional contributions from IRS, Moses Kremer, and Uriah Duffy.

• The song's lyrics move from a first-person account of economic hardship and street survival toward a collective working-class perspective, a central theme of *Pick a Bigger Weapon*.

• The Coup's politically charged music has often combined protest ideas with danceable funk and hip-hop arrangements. "We Are the Ones" is one of the album's clearest examples of that combination, pairing an upbeat groove with openly militant language.