Imperfect, definitely. But only because perfection is on the table.

Not as consistent as The Coup’s outstanding Steal This Album from 1998, Party Music still manages to be one of 2001’s best.

They've also inflected the mix with OutKast's quick complexity; and, like 'Kast, the Coup have progressed from story rapping to more mercurial rhymes. [Oct 2001, p.125]

In a hip-hop world ruled by clichéd production and watered-down beats, a sound so simultaneously funky and strange is, to say the least, a welcome change.

The Coup's warmest and most organic effort to date, both lyrically and musically.

May be the Coup's tightest album yet.

The duo's brand of hip-hop sounds like a mind-meeting between Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton and pimped-out Bay Area rapper Too Short. [Oct 2001, p.91]

Party Music doesn't really break much new ground for the Coup; it's more a consolidation of their strengths, touching on a little bit of everything they've done well in the past.

Party Music is an effort both entertaining and politically motivating, a feat which many have attempted but few have successfully pulled off.

These cuts are fresh'n'funky with a strong Seventies soul influence. [Feb 2002, p.113]

Many of the lyrics on Party Music amount to no more than slogans, maxims, opinions.