As Nasty as They Wanna Be is the third album by Miami bass group 2 Live Crew. It was released on February 7, 1989, and became the group's largest seller, being certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. In 1990, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled that the album was legally obscene;[5] this ruling was later overturned by the Eleventh Circuit.[6] It is the first album in history to be deemed legally obscene.[7]
| As Nasty as They Wanna Be | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 7, 1989[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1988 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 79:30 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | 2 Live Crew | |||
| 2 Live Crew chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from As Nasty as They Wanna Be | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [2] |
| Robert Christgau | C[3] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [4] |
It would also be the final album to be released under the Skyywalker Records label. Following a successful lawsuit against Luther Campbell and Skyywalker Records by Star Wars creator and director George Lucas, the company was forced to change its name to Luke Records.
The album is broken down track-by-track by Luke and Mr. Mixx in Brian Coleman's book Check the Technique.[8]
In 2010, the album cover and imagery of the record were used in the music video of the song "The Rabbit" by Swedish band Miike Snow.
Obscenity trial
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Shortly after the album was released, federal district judge Jose Gonzalez ruled that it was obscene and that stores and merchants in the several counties that fell under his jurisdiction could face charges if they made the album available for sale. Subsequently, on June 9, 1990, three band members were arrested by then-Sheriff Nick Navarro when they performed some tracks at a strip club in Broward County, Florida. In the "media circus"[9] attendant on these events, only the Washington City Paper, Tipper Gore's Parents Music Resource Center and The Nation magazine published the offending lyrics. Christopher Hitchens, in a column on the last of these, citing the admonition on the cover of the album—"If you don't like the record, you can kiss our mother fuckin' ass"—commented,
Precisely. It's obvious to this reviewer that the Crew should be left alone, and that their foulmouthed attitude toward the gentler sex is a good-sounding excuse for a youth-hating and surreptitiously bigoted prosecution. I don't know the private thoughts of Sheriff Nick Navarro of Broward County, but I doubt they are worth a rat's behind and see no reason why he should sublimate his own vagina-dreading disorders in this expensive and undemocratic fashion. The same applies to the preposterous Judge Jose Gonzalez Jr., who in ruling on Sheriff Navarro's raid opined that the music appeals to "the loins, not to the intellect." In fact, I think they are a pair of racist shitheads who should be told to fuck right off.[10]
During the 1990 Sound Vision Tour in Philadelphia, David Bowie stopped his performance in the middle of the song "Young Americans" to speak out against music censorship, specifically due to the controversy over 2 Live Crew's album As Nasty as They Wanna Be, saying "I've been listening to the album by 2 Live Crew. It's not the best album that's ever been made, but when I heard they banned it, I went out and bought it. Freedom of thought, freedom of speech – it's one of the most important things we have."[11]
An obscenity trial followed, in which Henry Louis Gates, Jr., addressed the court on behalf of the defendants, all of whom were eventually acquitted.
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Samples | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Me So Horny" |
| 4:36 |
| 2. | "Put Her in the Buck" |
| 3:57 |
| 3. | "Dick Almighty" |
| 4:53 |
| 4. | "C'mon Babe" | 4:43 | |
| 5. | "Dirty Nursery Rhymes" |
| 3:05 |
| 6. | "Break It on Down" (Campbell/Two Live Crew) | 3:59 | |
| 7. | "2 Live Blues" |
| 5:14 |
| 8. | "I Ain't Bullshittin'" |
| 4:27 |
| 9. | "Get Loose Now" (Campbell/Two Live Crew) |
| 4:36 |
| 10. | "The Fuck Shop" |
| 3:24 |
| 11. | "If You Believe in Having Sex" | 3:51 | |
| 12. | "My Seven Bizzos" | 4:18 | |
| 13. | "Get the Fuck out of My House" |
| 4:37 |
| 14. | "Reggae Joint" (satire of dancehall music) |
| 4:14 |
| 15. | "Fraternity Record" |
| 4:47 |
| 16. | "Bad Ass Bitch" | 4:03 | |
| 17. | "Mega Mixx III" |
| 5:44 |
| 18. | "Coolin'" (Campbell/Two Live Crew) |
| 5:02 |
Personnel
edit- 2 Live Crew – producer
- Jimmy Magnoli – guitar
- Mr. Mixx – vocals, producer, performer, mixing
- Ted Stein – engineer, mixing
- Ron Taylor – engineer, mixing
- Chris Murphy – engineer
As Clean as They Wanna Be
edit| As Clean as They Wanna Be | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 15, 1989 | |||
| Recorded | 1988–1989 | |||
| Genre | Miami bass | |||
| Length | 47:37 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
| |||
| 2 Live Crew chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [12] |
| Select |   [13] |
As Clean as They Wanna Be is the clean version of 2 Live Crew's third album. The album contains a disclaimer that "This album does not contain explicit lyrics". The album had notably worse sales than the explicit version. However, it does contain "Pretty Woman", which is not on the explicit version. The song – a parody of the Roy Orbison hit "Oh, Pretty Woman" – resulted in a Supreme Court case, Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., which established that a commercial parody can qualify as fair use. Despite the sticker on the album cover claiming "This album does not contain explicit lyrics", the song "Break It on Down" appears in its original, explicit form. Additionally, the song "City of Boom" (which is exclusive to the clean version) contains several explicit lyrics.
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by 2 Live Crew
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Funk Shop" | 3:23 |
| 2. | "C'mon Babe" | 4:19 |
| 3. | "Get Loose Now" | 4:36 |
| 4. | "Coolin'" | 5:03 |
| 5. | "You Got Larceny" | 4:57 |
| 6. | "Me So Horny" | 4:25 |
| 7. | "Pretty Woman" (parody of "Oh, Pretty Woman", written by Roy Orbison and Bill Dees) | 3:20 |
| 8. | "My Seven Bizzos" | 4:18 |
| 9. | "City of Boom" | 3:32 |
| 10. | "Mega Mix III" | 5:44 |
| 11. | "Break It on Down" | 3:58 |
Personnel
edit- Mr. Mixx – vocals, producer, mixing
- Ted Stein – engineer, mixing
- Ron Taylor – engineer, mixing
- Milton Mizell – coordination
- Linda Fine – coordination
- Mac Hartshorn – photography
- Mike Holland, aka Mike Bizzo – H.N.I.C.
- Luther Campbell – producer, executive producer
- Nic Stone, aka Spoon 56 – Mocha Thunder Generation
- Debbie Bennett – coordination
- Mike Fuller – mastering
Charts
edit
Weekly chartsedit
|
Year-end chartsedit
|
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[18] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- Hitchens, Christopher. "Minority Report." The Nation, July 30, 1990: 120.
- MacInnes, Paul. "The 2 Live Crew are arrested." The Guardian. June 13, 2011. (accessed June 9, 2012).
- ^ Billy Johnson, Jr. (February 7, 2014). "7 Ways the World Went Crazy With 'As Nasty As They Wanna Be'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 4, 2017.
- ^ Jeffries, David (September 16, 2018). "As Nasty as They Wanna Be- 01-Live Crew". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
- ^ "2 Live Crew Reviews". Robert Christgau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
- ^ Cross, Charles R. (2004). "2 Live Crew". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 829-30. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Skyywalker Records, Inc. v. Navarro, 739 F.Supp. 578 (S.D. Fla. 1990).
- ^ Luke Records, Inc. v. Navarro, 960 F.2d 134 (11th Cir. 1992).
- ^ Deflem, Mathieu. 2020. "Popular Culture and Social Control: The Moral Panic on Music Labeling." American Journal of Criminal Justice 45(1):2-24 (First published online July 24, 2019).
- ^ Coleman, Brian, 2007, Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies, Villard/Random House.
- ^ MacInnes 2011.
- ^ Hitchens 1990.
- ^ "People in the news", Times News Service, 14 July 1990
- ^ Jeffries, David (September 16, 2018). "As Clean as They Wanna Be- 2 Live Crew". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
- ^ Kirsch, Michele (October 1990). "Washing Dirty Linen In Public". Select. No. 4. p. 123.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The 2 Live Crew – As Nasty as They Wanna Be" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
- ^ "The 2 Live Crew, TLP". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ^ "The 2 Live Crew, BLP". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ^ "American album certifications – 2 Live Crew – As Nasty As They Wanna Be". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
External links
edit- As Nasty As They Wanna Be at MusicBrainz (list of releases)