Party Music

In June 2001 the Oakland group The Coup shot a cover for Party Music that showed Boots Riley and DJ Pam the Funkstress apparently blowing up the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Riley held what looked like a detonator, which was actually an electronic guitar tuner. The image was meant as a symbol of bringing down capitalism, on an album full of anti-capitalist anthems.

The album's release had already moved from September to November, and printing of the cover was scheduled to begin on 11 September 2001. After the attacks, 75 Ark halted the print run and commissioned new artwork over Riley's objections. Riley argued for keeping the original, describing the album as "a way to have a platform to interrupt the stream of lies that are being told right now."

The released cover shows a hand raising a flaming cocktail glass in a dark room, close to a Molotov cocktail served as a drink. Party Music came out on 6 November 2001 and was widely praised by critics. In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked the withdrawn original at number 46 on its list of the worst album covers ever, mostly for the band's attempt to keep it. The liner notes credit Victor Hall for the cover image and Brandon Arnovick for the package design.