Mere hours after supposedly being arrested for failure to pay child support, Hip-Hop pioneer Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell is painting the incident as a conspiracy to prevent his community outreach activities.
In an exclusive statement to AllHipHop.com, Campbell accused the Miami Herald and the city judicial system of releasing disinformation about his alleged arrest, which he said stemmed from legal bills, as opposed to back child support.
“This is another attempt by the courts of Miami-Dade county to stop me from working with the community,” Luther Campbell told AllHipHop.com. “Jennifer Lebovich from the Miami Herald erroneously reported that I went to jail for failure to pay child support when in fact I’m the first person I know of to go to jail for failure to pay attorney’s fees and not child support. The matter at issue pertained to attorney’s fees. Please note that my payment of $11,613.10 for actual child support was paid back in October 23, 2008. Therefore, my payment as to child support was and is current.”
Campbell has been active in various communities in Miami-Dade county, including the Liberty City projects, where he was raised.
Just last month, a masked gunman used an AK-47 assault rifle to murder 2 teenagers and injure 7 people in Liberty City.
Following the deadly shooting, Luke made a public promise to further entrench himself in the community to prevent further bloodshed.
“More people died [on that day] in the city of Miami then in Iraq. The sad thing is they are kids,” Campbell explained to AllHipHop.com in January. “This needs to stop and we know how to stop it. To fight a war you have to be on the front lines.”
However, Campbell claims his efforts have blocked by the city of Miami, and the alleged child support arrest is the last straw.
“At this point I am tired of fighting the city of Miami,” Campbell admitted. “I’m putting my house up for sale and getting the hell out. If you want to buy it let me know.”
If he makes good on his promise, Luke will be leaving Miami after cultivating a musical legacy as a label CEO, promoter, artist, and free speech trailblazer that extends back to 1985, when he founded legendary label Luke Skyywalker Records.