“Banned in the U.S.A.” 2 Live Crew
Sex sells and Luther Campbell knew this in way back in the 1990s. That’s when he dropped his hit song, “Banned in the U.S.A.” The song was a response to national criticism that he and his group, 2 Live Crew, received after dropping their previous 1989 album, As Nasty As They Wanna Be.
As Nasty was released with an advisory sticker that warned people that it had “Explicit Lyrics,” still the Florida Broward County Sheriff Mark Wichner pushed for the state courts to declare the project, “obscene.” According to The First Amendment Encyclopedia Judge Mel Grossman honored his request — and the Sheriff and other officers traveled the county and told record shop owners that should they sell the album, they would be arrested. Over 15 stores where approached with such warning.
By March of 1989, Skyywalker Records, Inc. fought back by filing suit on behalf of 2 Live Crew in federal district court to basically prove that the sheriff’s department actions was is called “illegal prior restraint” and to reverse the obscenity declaration. By definition, “prior restraint” is a form of censorship that permits the government to review the content of printed materials and prevent their publication.
A new judge, Jose Gonzalez, gave Uncle Luke some good news, while still supporting the previous court. He found that in the case Skyywalker v. Navarro (S.D. Fla. 1990), that the actions perpetrated by the sheriff’s office constituted an illegal prior restraint. But he did agree with previous court that the recording was indeed obscene. Gonzalez cited Miller v. California (1973) and referred to Kaplan v. California (1973) as precedent for finding “obscenity in nonpictorial matters.” 2 Live Crew’s freaky ode was indeed “banned.”
The group, consisting of DJ David “Mr. Mixx” Hobbs, Chris “Fresh Kid Ice” Wong Won, Mark “Brother Marquis” Ross and Luther “Luke Skyywalker” Campbell, determined to exercise their right of expression and launched a campaign manifested via the song, “Banned in the U.S.A.” A riff off of Bruce Springsteen’s mega hit “Born in the U.S.A.,” the song featured a sample of comedian mocking Ronald Reagan’s voice stating, United States’ government to be a government “Of the people, for the people, by the people.” But moreover, the song banged at the establishment saying:
“We’ve got white-collar people trying to grab our style … Saying we’re too nasty and we’re 2 live! Corrupted politicians playing games … Bringing us down to boost their fame … They must be joking thinking we will fall. But they’re like flies movin’ the wall. We stand tall from beginning to end … With the help from fans and all our friends … Freedom of speech will never die … For us to help, our ancestors died.”