2 Live Crew Declared Legally Obscene

1990

The 2 Live Crew album As Nasty As They Wanna Be becomes the first album declared legally obscene when Federal District Judge Jose Gonzalez rules that the album violates community obscenity standards in three south Florida counties: Broward, Dade, and Palm Beach.

The ruling sets off a censorship firestorm which drives sales of the album past 2 million copies. Two days later, a record store owner is arrested for selling the album, and two days after that, the group is arrested for performing the songs in concert. The court ruling is eventually overturned. According to the standards set by the United States Supreme Court, art is judged obscene if it: 1) Appeals primarily to prurient interest. 2) Is patently obscene by community standards. 3) Lacks serious artistic, literary, political or scientific merit. 2 Live Crew's case rests on #3, with their lawyer arguing that the group's songs "reflect exaggeration, parody, humor, even about delicate subjects." The case illuminates the divide between those who appreciate hip-hop and those who see it as meaningless. When the case is finally decided, it proves that by legal standards, even the crudest form of hip-hop has artistic merit, just as the nastiest punk rock and metal did before.