Born Luther Roderick Campbell on December 22, 1960, the controversial Southern rapper is better known by his stage name Luke. As producer and member of rap outfit 2 Live Crew, Luke became one of the most infamous rappers in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s when 2 Live Crew’s lyrically explicit albums Move Somethin’ (1988 ) and As Nasty As They Wanna Be (1989) were deemed obscene and led to various lawsuits. It all started when Luke, then a Miami, Florida-based concert promoter, discovered California-based rap trio 2 Live Crew. Luke managed to convince two of the three members to move to Florida, where he produced them and then formed the Luke Skywalker Records label with the other members. Luke then joined 2 Live Crew, who swelled to a quartet with the addition of Brother Marquis. Their 1986 debut album The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are made Luke and the gang rap royalty in Florida. In 1988, their second album Move Somethin’ was released to acclaim from rap fans. In Alexander City, Alabama, a record store clerk was arrested for selling an explicit album to a minor. This incident brought Luke and 2 Live Crew a lot of attention in the press and helped sell even more copies of the album. Not one to let his fans down, Luke and the Crew turned up the obscenities for 1989’s As Nasty As They Wanna Be. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled that the album was legally obscene. The album became their biggest seller and was eventually certified double platinum. After the obscenity trial ended, all defendants were acquitted. 1990’s Banned In the U.S.A. was initially released as a solo Luke album (with 2 Live Crew) but was later credited to the whole group. Luke began his legitimate solo career with The Luke LP (1990) and released solo albums alongside 2 Live Crew albums throughout the remainder of the 1990s but they never achieved the same amount of success or notoriety as their earlier releases. The last 2 Live Crew album, The Real One, was released in 1998. Luke’s final solo album, My Life & Freaky Times, was released in 2006. Since then, he has led quite a colorful career that has included adult films, reality television, politics, and various partial 2 Live Crew reunions.
