Some of the four-letter words, said, ”reflect exaggeration, parody, humor, even about delicate subjects,” like sexual practices. The group’s performance had to be understood in the context of hip hop, a form of black popular music that arose in the last few years. Bruce Rogow, the official legal representative for 2 Live Crew, provided a response that is just as relevant today as it was 20 years ago, if not more so: The case is intriguing because it sparked a debate about the content of rap music and the right to freedom of speech while highlighting a number of social issues concerning the consequences of censorship.
During the show, they recited lyrics that were deemed “obscene” by prosecutors - i.e., they were “patently offensive in the mind of the audience experiencing it.” Among that audience were two undercover detectives who recorded the gig on cassette for future evidence, where lead vocalist Luke Campbell is said to have referred to women as “bitches,” propagated domestic abuse, and encouraged depraved sexual acts on stage. The charges were in connection to a local concert where the hip-hop collective played four particular songs from their album Nasty As They Wanna Be. In 1990, 2 Live Crew were put on trial for obscenity violations at the Ford Lauderdale Court, Florida.