Close to the 25th anniversary of a legal obscenity battle in the music industry sparked in part by the release of 2 Live Crew's album As Nasty As They Wanna Be, Uncle Luke recalls the creation of the "parental advisory" sticker.
The 2 Live Crew frontman recently sat down with Sway on Shade 45 and shared his experience fighting for artistic freedom, specifically the use of parody.
"When I was sitting in the Supreme Court and I saw justices come from the back of a curtain," he said in response to a question about one of his most significant memories in the industry. "My lawyer was sitting there arguing a case, [Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music], and parody. Then I'm looking at Michael Jackson and Dolly Parton file briefs against me. At that point I was like, 'Man, this is wild. This is real.' So to be in there and then to win that case. And then, at the same time, have people like Saturday Night Live and a whole other bunch of comedians file briefs on our behalf. Because if we would have lost the case then guys wouldn't be able to imitate — do any more parodies in the country. So that was big for me. Of all the things, going to jail for the music."
Prior to the Supreme Court case, a 1990 state court decision against 2 Live Crew marked the first time a musical recording was ever officially declared obscene in the United States. Subsequently, the group was barred from performing the material in question. They protested the ruling by performing the songs anyway and were arrested shortly thereafter.
"At that time it was an attack on hip-hop," Luke recalled. "You had Tipper Gore, Al Gore's wife, she had created this list, put me, Ice T, N.W.A., all kinds of different artists on that list along with a bunch of other rock 'n' roll artists. They wanted basically to get rid of hip-hop. My first album actually got banned by a federal judge, said it was explicit lyrics and it shouldn't be sold. So we actually got it [taken] off the shelf so we ended up going to have to fight that."
Earlier this month, Atlanta trio Travis Porter paid homage to the strip club anthem pioneers, naming their latest release 3 Live Crew.
Just like 2 Live Crew's music, the mixtape is very sexual and turns to the streets throughout the project. The tape includes songs like "Shakin' That Ass" and "Twerk For Travy" with guest spots by Bankroll Fresh and Cap1.
Check out Uncle Luke's interview in its entirety after the jump and let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
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