< 2 Live Crew fought the law with its album, 'As Nasty As They Wanna Be'

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Get used to this sound over the next four minutes...

(SOUNDBITE OF EXPLETIVE BLEEP)

INSKEEP: ...Because this next story is about music with references to sex, and we'll bleep a lot of them out. 2 Live Crew tested the boundary of good taste and also danced all over it. In the 1980s and '90s, they made some of the most explicit music in the business, which fans loved. Some in law enforcement did not, and their legal battles cleared a path for other rappers to follow. As we mark the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, cultural critic Kiana Fitzgerald is looking back at a few of its game-changing moments. And today she examines the 2 Live Crew album "As Nasty As They Want To Be."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ME SO HORNY")

2 LIVE CREW: (Rapping) Sitting at home with my [expletive], so I got the black book for a freak to call.

KIANA FITZGERALD: Like, what is the best way to talk about this album? Wow. So here we go.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ME SO HORNY")

2 LIVE CREW: (Rapping) ...Are you down with it?

FITZGERALD: Before 2 Live Crew, hip-hop was fairly tame. They became, you know, hip-hop's early provocateurs, to put it lightly. "As Nasty As They Want To Be" was unapologetic in every way. And even though this project was based in Florida and steeped in Miami bass, it was something that was nationally recognized. Albums flew off the shelves, whether they were legal or not. "Me So Horny" is kind of the centerpiece of this album. Even though it's incredibly offensive in a lot of ways, it was still a hit on the pop charts.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ME SO HORNY")

2 LIVE CREW: Ah, me so horny. Me love you long time.

FITZGERALD: 2 Live Crew really understood that they had to break through the noise of East Coast and West Coast hip-hop. Luther Campbell is the lead of 2 Live Crew. And here's something Luther Campbell told NPR back in 2015.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

LUTHER CAMPBELL: What my mom never used to listen to - this would set us apart from everybody else. Let's do comedy. Let's sample some of these famous comedians like Redd Foxx and Leroy and Skillet and Aunt Esther.

FITZGERALD: Those kinds of records were very, very explicit and salacious, and they kind of flipped that into their own content.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "C'MON BABE")

2 LIVE CREW: (Rapping) Let's get it going on. Let's act a fool. Listen and learn while I take you to school. You say you don't [expletive] on the first date? Then [expletive] I ain't going to wait. 'Cause my [expletive]...

FITZGERALD: Shortly after "As Nasty As They Want To Be" came out, a local sheriff in Broward County, Fla., took that to a judge in the county who declared it to be obscene. And it was the first album to be deemed so legally. And with this decision, the local sheriff, Nick Navarro, started arresting record store owners and employees for selling the album. And also, members of 2 Live Crew were arrested for performing the songs at a nightclub in Hollywood, Fla. So the MCs were later acquitted.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: The rap group 2 Live Crew got a reprieve this week from an Atlanta appeals court. The court ruled that the group's album, "Nasty As They Want To Be," is not obscene.

FITZGERALD: They really set a legal precedent for hip-hop artists today to be able to create in the way that they choose to. I think if 2 Live Crew hadn't existed, we'd be in a very different place today with hip-hop. They are the reason why we have artists like Megan Thee Stallion, you know, the Drakes and the Lil Waynes and the other people who really make sex a part of their persona and their content.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BREAK IT ON DOWN")

2 LIVE CREW: (Rapping) Now let me break it on down and tell the story. When they say 2 Live, your mama gets worried. When they speak of us, the negative...

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