2 Live Crew is a rap group. They caused considerable controversy with the sexual themes in their work, particularly on their 1989 album As Nasty As They Wanna Be.
2 Live Crew: Early Career
2 Live Crew began in California, consisting of Chris (Fresh Kid Ice) Wongwon, David (Mr. Mixx) Hobbs, and Amazing V. They released "Revelation" in 1984; the single sold well in Florida and Hobbs and Wongwon moved there, releasing What I Like along with Mark "Brother Marquis" Ross. They received a record deal from manager and eventual performer Luther Campbell, who used the nickname "Luke Skyywalker".
The year 1986 saw the release of The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are, featuring profane and sexually graphic lyrics. Rudy Ray Moore's Comedy albums provided the material for all of those XXX Scratch Samples that Mr Mixx cut up. Bob Rosenberg of Will to Power did trick edits on Beat Box and was billed "King of the edits". The record went gold. Though the controversy did not rise to the levels the group would reach in the future, a Florida store clerk was charged and acquitted of felony charges for selling the album to a fourteen-year-old girl in 1987.
Campbell decided to sell a clean version of the next album, Movin' Somethin' (1988). A record store clerk in the smalltown of Alexander City Alabama was cited for selling a copy to an undercover cop in 1988. It was the first time in the United States that a record store owner was held liable for obscenity over music. The charges were dropped after a jury found the record store innocent.
2 Live Crew: As Nasty As They Wanna Be
As Nasty As They Wanna Be (1989) became the group's biggest hit, largely because of the single "Me So Horny", which was popular in spite of little radio play, thanks, in part, to prevalent play on MTV. The song was based on a quote from a Vietnamese prostitute in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket and took a sample from Mass Production's Firecracker.
The American Family Association did not think the presence of a "Parental Advisory" sticker was enough to adequately warn listeners of what was inside the case. Jack Thompson, a lawyer affiliated with the AFA, met with Florida Governor Bob Martinez and convinced him to look into the album to see if it met the legal classification of "obscene." It was decided in 1990 that action should be taken at the local level and Nick Navarro, Broward County sheriff received a ruling from Judge Mel Grossman that probable cause for obscenity violations existed. Navarro warned record store owners that selling the album may be prosecutable. 2 Live Crew filed a suit against Navarro. That June, Judge Jose Gonzalez ruled against the album, declaring it obscene and illegal to sell. Charles Freeman, a local retailer, was arrested two days later, after selling a copy to an undercover police officer. This was followed by the arrest of three members of 2 Live Crew after they performed some material from the album at a performance. They were acquitted soon after. In 1992, a Court of Appeals overturned the obscenity ruling from Jose Gonzales, and the Supreme Court of the United States refused to hear Broward County's appeal. A notable feature of the case was the distinguished literary critic and now Harvard University professor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. as an "expert witness" on behalf of the defendants. He argued that the material that the county alleged was profane, actually had important roots in African-American vernacular games and literary traditions and should be protected.
As a result of the controversy, As Nasty As They Wanna Be sold over two million copies. It peaked at #29 on The Billboard 200 and #3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. A few other retailers were later arrested for selling it as well. The publicity then continued when George Lucas, owner of the Star Wars universe, sued Campbell for appropriating the name from his franchise. Campbell changed his stage name to Luke (and changed the record label's name to Luke Records) and then released an extremely political solo album, Banned in the USA after obtaining permission to parody Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. 2 Live Crew paraphernalia with the Luke Skyywalker or Skyywalker logos are usually sought after as collector's items.
In 1991, 2 Live Crew released the very first live rap album, Live in Concert, and Sports Weekend, a full-length studio original. It peaked at #22 on The Billboard 200 and #19 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It did not gain the same sales level that they experienced with As Nasty As They Wanna Be. The 2 Live Crew members went their separate ways after this. Mark "Brother Marquis" Ross co-starred alongside Fred Williamson in the film South Beach and Luke pursued his solo music career and other projects.
In 1992, Fresh Kid Ice and Mr. Mixx released unreleased tracks from pre-Luke 2 Live Crew Deal With This under the name Rock on Crew, while Luke and Ice also released new solo albums, I Got Shit on My Mind and The Chinaman, respectively.
2 Live Crew: The New 2 Live Crew
1994 saw Luke, Fresh Kid Ice and a new addition to the group, Verb, regrouping as The New 2 Live Crew, issuing Back at Your Ass for the Nine-4. This album peaked at #52 on The Billboard 200 and #9 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. During this time the lawsuit brought about by the estate of Roy Orbison, the copyright owners of "Oh, Pretty Woman," went to the Supreme Court. The Crew had parodied the original on the album As Clean As They Wanna Be without permission. The Supreme Court adopted a rule from an earlier Ninth Circuit case Fisher v. Dees. 794 F.2d 432 (9th Cir. 1986) involving Rick Dees, and ruled that 2 Live Crew's parody was fair use.
The New 2 Live Crew broke up in 1995.
2 Live Crew: Reunions
Luke, Fresh Kid Ice, Brother Marquis and Mr. Mixx re-formed again, to record "Hoochie Mama" for the soundtrack to the movie Friday. The Crew was to reunite for an album but the reunion was short-lived, as Fresh Kid Ice, Mr. Mixx and Brother Marquis left Luke and Luke Records to go to Lil' Joe Records and recorded/released Shake a Lil' Somethin' (1996). This album was their last album to make The Billboard 200 peaking at #145. It peaked at #33 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
In 1998, Brother Marquis became a born-again Christian, quit the group, and began devoting himself to combating what he sees as the "evils" that he as a member of 2 Live Crew portrayed and glorified. Mr. Mixx left soon after leaving Fresh Kid Ice and Brother Marquis to record The Real One in 1998. It peaked at #59 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The 2 Live Crew talked about reuniting in 2004 for a final 2 Live Crew album and tour.
2 Live Crew: 2005 To Present
The 2 Live Crew did perform at the 2005 Gathering of the Juggalos. In a way, they are now somewhat underrated and overlooked for their contributions to Hardcore Rap music before it hit big in the mainstream during the 1990s. Still, the 2 Live Crew continues to have a devoted fanbase. The two core members are still popular within the Miami Bass community and Dancehall goers. |
