2 Live Crew Obscenity Case | 105
History of the 90s
Kathy Kenzora
4.7 • 610 Ratings
🗓️ 13 December 2023
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In June 1990, a US federal judge ruled that the 2 Live Crew album “As Nasty As They Wanna Be” was obscene and police could arrest anyone in South Florida who tried to sell it.
It was the first time any album in the US had been deemed obscene and it led to an epic battle between the controversial rappers and the justice system.
On this episode we look back at the great rap censorship scare of 1990.
Show contact info:
Instagram: @that90spodcast
Email: 90s@curiouscast.ca
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey there, it's Kathy. I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to History of the 90s |
| 0:04.7 | early and ad-free on Amazon music included with Prime. |
| 0:09.1 | A listener's note. The following episode contains coarse language, adult themes, and content |
| 0:14.2 | of a violent and disturbing nature, and may not be suitable for everyone. Listener discretion is advised. |
| 0:33.5 | On a hot June night in 1990, more than 300 people jammed into a dark smoke-filled club in Hollywood, Florida. |
| 0:40.3 | They were there to see a controversial rap group, known for their sexually explicit lyrics and booty-shaking bass lines. |
| 0:47.3 | The walls were sweating as the excited crowd danced, bounced, and chanted along to the lyrics. Several women from the audience were brought up on stage to bump and grind with the rappers. |
| 0:52.3 | Among those watching from the crowd |
| 0:55.2 | were playing closed police officers, |
| 0:57.5 | sent by the Broward County Sheriff's Office |
| 0:59.7 | to keep tabs on the show. |
| 1:01.7 | Within a few hours, the leader of the group |
| 1:04.0 | would be pushed Spread Eagle onto the hood of a cop car |
| 1:07.2 | as he was placed under arrest. |
| 1:09.5 | His crime, performing a song deemed obscene by a local judge. |
| 1:13.6 | I'm Kathy Kanzora, and this is History of the 90s, a podcast about a decade that changed the world. |
| 1:20.6 | In this episode, I take you back to one of the first battles to censor rap music. |
| 1:26.6 | This is the story of Two Live Crew and their |
| 1:29.9 | fight to be as nasty as they want to be. Long before Two Live Crew were on stage at Club |
| 1:38.9 | Futura in Hollywood, Florida, their leader Luther, was a kid with an entrepreneurial spirit. |
| 1:46.5 | Born in 1960, Campbell was raised in Liberty City, a predominantly black Miami neighborhood. |
| 1:52.9 | As a teenager, he joined a DJ group and started selling weed to buy speakers and other equipment. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Kathy Kenzora, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Kathy Kenzora and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.