The Book of Luke by Luther Campbell

Author:Luther Campbell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2015-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

ROCK STAR

Back when we were starting out, 2 Live Crew never got any respect from our fellow rappers or from the major labels. We were too raunchy, too controversial. Coming off the Broward trial, after taking that hit and becoming First Amendment champions, I started to hope that we’d finally get our due, the kind of respect I got from Bruce Springsteen when he let me use his song. I was thrilled when I received an invitation to attend the Grammys. They said they were going to be giving out a special Freedom Fighter award in light of everything that was going on that year with musicians’ free speech under attack. They intimated to me that it was something special, and that it would be a secret until the show aired, but that I’d want to be there for it. I couldn’t believe it. I thought, damn, here it is at last, the industry acceptance that I’ve never received.

I flew up to New York for the show at Radio City Music Hall. I walked through all the interviews along the red carpet, flashbulbs everywhere. I went in there that night ready to be recognized for taking a stand and holding my ground. I took my seat and settled in for the show. Finally they got to the special award. Somebody gave this big speech about music being an art form worth defending and how the First Amendment had been under attack and so they were going to honor an artist who had been fighting for free speech and free expression all over the country. “Please join us in bringing onstage . . . Madonna!”

I was like, Madonna?! Get the fuck outta here.

I ain’t been back to the Grammys since.

In hindsight, it was foolish of me to think that the mainstream music industry was ready to start recognizing independent black artists and labels. In the end, I didn’t care. I was too busy to give a shit. I wasn’t looking for their validation and I didn’t need it. Thanks to Nasty and the trial, I’d become an international rock star all on my own. Our record sales had been taking off in Japan, so the first thing I did once I got out of that courtroom was book my first solo tour over there to promote Banned in the U.S.A.

Japan was wild. We played Osaka, Kyoto, Yokohama, and Tokyo. I’d never even left the country before, and the whole experience was pure culture shock. Even though the audience didn’t understand the words, they still understood the music. It was crazy to see how music is such a universal language. It was amazing to see how far hip-hop had traveled around the globe. This was barely ten years out from the Sugarhill Gang and “Rapper’s Delight,” but hip-hop style and music and fashion were everywhere.

MC Hammer was touring Japan at the same time, playing fucking arenas. We were both a long way from when he slept on my couch and did a show at the Pac Jam II.

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