2 Live Crew: biography

This article will explore the career of the rap group 2 Live Crew. It will explain how the group came together, their beginnings in Florida, the key points of their career as well as their critical and commercial success. It will also touch on their impact on rap music as a whole.

Beginnings

2 Live Crew came together in 1985. The original members consisted of Fresh Kid Ice, DJ Mr Mixx and Amazing V. The Miami natives soon added rappers Brother Marquis and Luke (also known as Luther Campbell). The latter, though not a founding member, would come to symbolize the group and act as its flamboyant frontman. The group soon became known for their extremely provocative and sexual lyrics. Early albums such as The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are and As Nasty As They Wanna Be (which contained the hugely popular song Me So Horny) saw them antagonize Florida authorities and resulted in banning - a move which would spark their later album Banned In The USA.

Career

1985 - Group formed
1986 - Debut album released (The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are)
1989 - Landmark album As Nasty As They Wanna Be released. Obscenity charges brought against group.
1991 - Banned In The USA released
1992 - Obscenity charges overturned in court hearings
1994 - Group changes lineup, renames itself The New 2 Live Crew
1998 - Group unofficially splits
2009 - Reunion is discussed. An album was planned for 2010 but did not materialize.

Achievements

2 Live Crew's first album went gold shortly after its release in 1986. In terms of achievements, having their album As Nasty As They Wanna Be become the first album ever to be legally counted as obscene (in 1989) is certainly worth noting, as were the subsequent court battles surrounding both that album and later ones. More importantly, 2 Live Crew can be credited for showing the power of rap music to shock and titillate both the establishment and music fans. The group may have had an ignominious ending, but their legacy lives on in hip-hop music as a whole with the presence of sexually extreme lyrics and themes in modern rap.