Luther Campbell - Banned in the USA (CD)

All Music Guide

When Florida attorney Jack Thompson did everything he could to have the Xrated music of the 2 Live Crew outlawed, his assault on the First Amendment led many freespeech advocates to take up the group's cause. Thompson's actions inspired quite a bit of anger from both White liberals and AfricanAmerican rappers, who saw something obscene about a prosperous lawyer declaring war on a young Black entrepreneur who had avoided the pitfalls of Miami's Liberty City ghetto. Luke was under attack for doing the very thing Republicans consistently advocate using free enterprise to pull himself up by the bootstraps. Ironically, many of those who defended his First Amendment rights had little or no use for his lyrics. Banned in the USA, the Crew's first album for a major label and its first after the battle with Thompson, is for many, a guilty pleasure. Say what you will about Luke's highschool lockerroom lyrics; the Crew's Miami bass rap can be quite catchy, infectious and amusing. Many New York hi...phoppers were quick to critcize the fast tempos employed by Miami rappers like Luke, but the fact that they did it their own way instead of emulating Northeastern MCs is something to admire instead of lambast. Alex Henderson, All Music Guide Read more Less