Former 2 Live Crew frontman and current Miami New Times columnist Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell will be the featured speaker at the Free Speech Lunch on Friday, July 12, during the AAN Annual Convention in Miami.
2 Live Crew’s double platinum album As Nasty As They Wanna Be was ruled legally obscene by a U.S. District Judge in 1990, making it illegal to sell in three South Florida counties. Two days after the ruling, a Ft. Lauderdale record store owner was arrested for selling the album, which featured tracks such as “Me So Horny,” “Dirty Nursery Rhymes,” and “The Fuck Shop.”
After performing four songs from the album in a Hollywood, Fla. nightclub, Campbell and two other band members were arrested and put on trial for violating obscenity laws.
“You’re going to hear graphic descriptions of sexual intercourse, anal intercourse, oral intercourse,” warned the prosecutor at the start of the trial, a warning that could also apply to anyone listening in to the conversations that take place at AAN events.
A jury acquitted the group of all charges, and two years later, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit overturned the ruling which found the album obscene. “It apparently was the first time any federal appellate court had been asked to rule whether a musical composition was obscene,” the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported at the time.
Campbell has been writing columns for Miami New Times since February 2010, where he shares his “crazy-ass views on current events.”
Jim DeFede — a reporter for CBS News in Miami and certified by New Times editor Chuck Strouse as the “most entertaining man alive” — will lead a Q&A with Campbell.
The Free Speech Lunch is an annual tradition at the AAN Convention and is hosted by the Free Speech Committee. Past lunch speakers have included Bill Clinton, Larry Flynt, Oliver Stone, James Fallows, and Seymour Hersh.
Please note: Attendance at this lunch requires a separate registration fee of $35. If you have not yet registered, please email Debra Silvestrin at debra[at]aan[dot]org to reserve your spot. Seats are limited.
