Artist:The 2 Live Crew
Song:Banned in the U.S.A.
Album:Banned in the U.S.A.
2 Live Crew Was an early rap group that became successful after a federal court ruled that one of their albums was obscene. The 1990 single Banned in the U.S.A. was their reaction to that ruling. It turned out to be their biggest hit. This dumb ruling was overturned upon appeal in 1992. All it did was give free publicity to 2 Live Crew and they became a symbol of free speech. 2 Live Crew was formed in 1984. But they started to get noticed after DJ and Miami promoter Luther Campbell became their manager and joined the group. The other members were David "DJ Mr. Mixx" Hobbs and Chris "Fresh Kid Ice" Wong Won. After Mark "Brother Marquis" Ross joined in 1986, Campbell started his own record company and became the spokesman for the group. The 1986 album The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are had sexually explicit lyrics. I don't have a problem with that except radio stations can't play their records as they could have their license taken away by the FCC. The album was still certified Gold based on word of mouth. With their 1988 Move Somethin', Campbell decided to release explicit and clean versions so they could get radio play. This album was also certified Gold. Then they released the 1998 album As Nasty as They Wanna Be. The single Me So Horny reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Christian fundamentalist organization American Family Association (AFA) went to Florida Governor Bob Martinez to have obscenity charges filed. This progressed to a point where a judge ruled that the album was obscene. Campbell sued the sheriff in Florida. The police response to that was to arrest a record retailer for selling the album to an undercover cop and they arrested members of 2 Live Crew while they performed in a local club. Free speech advocates were outraged and professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. handled the case. Charges were dropped and the appeals court reversed this ridiculous ruling. Meanwhile, As Nasty As They Wanna Be sold over two million copies without the benefit of a hit single. Then they released the 1990 album Banned in the U.S.A. and the title song reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100. Bruce Springsteen let Campbell use his song Born in the U.S.A. This album is available on CD. After two more albums, this version of 2 Live Crew split up. Campbell left and the other three continued to record until 1998. They would reunite occasionally and release singles. Wong Won died in 2017 and Ross died in 2024. The one thing I can say about 2 Live Crew is they helped popularize rap music. Here's the video for Banned in the U.S.A. by 2 Live Crew.
No comments:
Post a Comment