Luther Campbell
Encyclopedia
Luther R. Campbell also known as Luke Skyywalker, Uncle Luke or Luke, is a record label owner, rap
performer (taking the non-rapping role of promoter), and actor. He is perhaps best known as a one-time member and leader of 2 Live Crew
, and star of his own show, Luke's Parental Advisory.
As a result of one of the group's songs, which used a parody of Roy Orbison
's "Oh, Pretty Woman
" Campbell was party to Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.
which was argued in front of the US Supreme Court.
; most of it is part of the Miami Bass
sub-genre. The sexual content of his group's lyrics caused controversy and led to legal cases. Usually, Campbell does not rap but rather shouts or chants—very often in a call and response manner, with him calling and the crowd responding. He was not an original member of the 2 Live Crew, only joining them after their first steps as a California rap crew. Only through Campbell did they become "Southern" rappers.
Campbell ran Luke Records, which shortened its name from Luke Skyywalker Records after George Lucas
filed a legal case against them for infringing on the name of his Star Wars
character, Luke Skywalker
.
Luke began as a concert promoter in Miami, bringing all the hot rap groups of the early 1980s to the city. In 1983, he enrolled in an 8-week study course at public radio station WDNA
, learning basic audio editing and production techniques.
Luke's first solo LP, Banned in the USA
, was a 2 Live Crew record just under the New "Luke" record label to lawsuits from George Lucas So he dropped the Skywalker and changed his name to Luke the record company was named Luke records, yet he did not offer royalties to the group for creating the album; rather, a small flat fee was paid. When 2 Live Crew's contracts with Luke Records ended in 1991, the group's producer (and Luke Records' in-house producer for the entire label) Mr. Mixx left the group and returned to California. However, the group did decide to do a sequel to their biggest album. Initially, Luke employed the label's second string producers The O.D.S. to produce the album, but it was not turning into the group's vision, so Luke recruited Mr. Mixx to return and produce the album as an independent producer (T-Shirt and Khakis Productions).
However, by the time of the album's completion, they sought to make it appear as if the group was totally intact. Shortly after, all members of the group drew up a lawsuit against Luke for unpaid royalties, which member Fresh Kid Ice backed out of and revamped a new 2 Live Crew with Luke in 1994. Finally a settlement was reached for the remaining plaintiffs. Shortly after this, label-mate MC Shy D would effectively sue Luke Records for $1.2 million dollars in unpaid royalties. The judge in the case, a former musician himself, verbally stated that he wanted to make an example of Luke.
, sparking what some call its third wave. He released it on the heels of the final 2 Live Crew album, going so far as to stop promotion on their album while the 2 Live Crew single "Pop that Coochie" was still in the charts. It is suggested that Luke wanted his solo song to be seen as the next 2 Live Crew single, despite not having rights to the group's name.
Luke Records filed for bankruptcy in the mid-1990s. Former Luke Records' Chief Financial Officer
Joseph "Lil' Joe" Weinberger acquired the Luke Records catalog, and reunified the original three members of 2 Live Crew without Luke during the mid-1990s to release music on Lil Joe Records. Some suggest Lil Joe deliberately forced Luke Records into bankruptcy over unpaid loans between the two men.
Lil Jon
(who used to produce Miami Bass records) has a vocal style not too dissimilar from Luke—in any case, they both (normally) do not rap and use guest rappers. Crunk music may be seen as the heir of Campbell's brand of Miami bass—both lyrically and musically.
Luke's latest album, My Life & Freaky Times
, was released in March 2006 and featured Trick Daddy
, Petey Pablo
, Jacki-O
, Pitbull
, Dirtbag, and Big Tigger
to name a few. The first singles serviced to radio and the clubs from the compilation album were "Holla At Cha Homeboy", featuring Pitbull & Petey Pablo, and the reggaeton
-leaning "Pop That" by Plan B
and Rey Chester Secretweapon.
Hurricanes football team
. In 1993, he also once threatened to go public with various violations by the University of Miami
's athletic department, specifically their football program, if Ryan Collins, an African-American player, wasn't named their starting quarterback for that season.
Campbell was interviewed about his involvement with the Miami Hurricanes for the documentary The U
, which premiered December 12, 2009 on ESPN
.
as DJ Luke for the hip-hop station Fresh 105 FM. Campbell hosts a sports talk show on Miami's 790 The Ticket with former football player Terry Kirby
on Saturdays.
Luke has recently entered the adult film industry and cites on his MySpace
page the need to clean up the "sometimes amateurish new courtship of Hip-Hop and Adult Entertainment". He produced the Adult Entertainment movie "Luke's Bachelor Party" in 2007.
In December 2007, Campbell launched The Luke Entertainment Group and took the company public trading under the symbol LKEN on Pink Sheets
. As of September 3, 2008, its current price is $0.01 per share. With this launching of Luke Entertainment Campbell had bought an oil company with the stock trading symbol of FPPL. Luther Campbell is also a legendary DJ member of The Worldwide DJ organization, The Core DJ's.
Campbell became a columnist for the Miami New Times in February 2010. His column, Luke's Gospel, provides "a forum for his crazy-ass views on current events," which include politics, sports and entertainment.
The New Times describes him as the man whose booty-shaking madness once made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech.
He is quoted on the web site as saying: "It's the perfect place for me. I am a free-speech guy. It's just a match made in Heaven. Can you believe it? Me turned loose on the world in New Times. Wow."
On February 2, 2011, Campbell announced his intention to run for mayor of Miami-Dade County on a platform that includes making housing projects safer, transparency in local government, and taxing strippers. He came in fourth in a field of eleven candidates, winning 11% of the vote.
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
performer (taking the non-rapping role of promoter), and actor. He is perhaps best known as a one-time member and leader of 2 Live Crew
2 Live Crew
2 Live Crew was a hip hop group from Miami, Florida. They caused considerable controversy with the sexual themes in their work, particularly on their 1989 album As Nasty As They Wanna Be.- Early career :...
, and star of his own show, Luke's Parental Advisory.
As a result of one of the group's songs, which used a parody of Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
's "Oh, Pretty Woman
Oh, Pretty Woman
"Oh, Pretty Woman" is a song, released in August 1964, which was a worldwide success for Roy Orbison. Recorded on the Monument Records label in Nashville, Tennessee, it was written by Roy Orbison and Bill Dees. The song spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100...
" Campbell was party to Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.
Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.
Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, 510 U.S. 569 was a United States Supreme Court copyright law case that established that a commercial parody can qualify as fair use...
which was argued in front of the US Supreme Court.
Early works
Campbell's work as a performer can be characterised as Southern RapSouthern rap
Southern hip hop, also called Southern rap, is a genre of American music influenced by hip hop that emerged from a late-1980s club-oriented vibe in southern U.S...
; most of it is part of the Miami Bass
Miami bass
Miami bass , is a type of hip hop music, that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. Its roots are directly linked to the Electro-funk sound of the early 1980s, pioneered by Afrika Bambataa & The Soulsonic Force and later on by UK-based musician Paul Hardcastle...
sub-genre. The sexual content of his group's lyrics caused controversy and led to legal cases. Usually, Campbell does not rap but rather shouts or chants—very often in a call and response manner, with him calling and the crowd responding. He was not an original member of the 2 Live Crew, only joining them after their first steps as a California rap crew. Only through Campbell did they become "Southern" rappers.
Campbell ran Luke Records, which shortened its name from Luke Skyywalker Records after George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
filed a legal case against them for infringing on the name of his Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
character, Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
.
Luke began as a concert promoter in Miami, bringing all the hot rap groups of the early 1980s to the city. In 1983, he enrolled in an 8-week study course at public radio station WDNA
WDNA
WDNA is the callsign of a class C2 listener supported public radio station operating on 88.9 MHz in Miami, Florida, licensed in 1977 by the FCC to the Bascomb Memorial Broadcasting Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. WDNA is the market's first public radio station. It is affiliated with...
, learning basic audio editing and production techniques.
2 Live Crew
In 1985, 2 Live Crew's initial single (2 Live AKA Beat Box) was a smash hit on the South Florida club circuit, so Luke brought them from California to Miami for a performance. He took a special interest in the group and began managing them, and only after he saw a lack of stage presence in the front men did he insert himself into the group as their "hype man".Luke's first solo LP, Banned in the USA
Banned in the USA
Banned in the U.S.A. is the fourth album by 2 Live Crew. It was originally credited as Luke's solo album. The album included the hits "Do The Bart" and the title track....
, was a 2 Live Crew record just under the New "Luke" record label to lawsuits from George Lucas So he dropped the Skywalker and changed his name to Luke the record company was named Luke records, yet he did not offer royalties to the group for creating the album; rather, a small flat fee was paid. When 2 Live Crew's contracts with Luke Records ended in 1991, the group's producer (and Luke Records' in-house producer for the entire label) Mr. Mixx left the group and returned to California. However, the group did decide to do a sequel to their biggest album. Initially, Luke employed the label's second string producers The O.D.S. to produce the album, but it was not turning into the group's vision, so Luke recruited Mr. Mixx to return and produce the album as an independent producer (T-Shirt and Khakis Productions).
However, by the time of the album's completion, they sought to make it appear as if the group was totally intact. Shortly after, all members of the group drew up a lawsuit against Luke for unpaid royalties, which member Fresh Kid Ice backed out of and revamped a new 2 Live Crew with Luke in 1994. Finally a settlement was reached for the remaining plaintiffs. Shortly after this, label-mate MC Shy D would effectively sue Luke Records for $1.2 million dollars in unpaid royalties. The judge in the case, a former musician himself, verbally stated that he wanted to make an example of Luke.
Solo career
Luke released a solo record (technically, his first) in 1991 entitled I Wanna Rock (also known as Doo Doo Brown), but he remained true to his call and response style rather than rapping, and hired outside producers. The song is seen as a pivotal point in Miami BassMiami bass
Miami bass , is a type of hip hop music, that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. Its roots are directly linked to the Electro-funk sound of the early 1980s, pioneered by Afrika Bambataa & The Soulsonic Force and later on by UK-based musician Paul Hardcastle...
, sparking what some call its third wave. He released it on the heels of the final 2 Live Crew album, going so far as to stop promotion on their album while the 2 Live Crew single "Pop that Coochie" was still in the charts. It is suggested that Luke wanted his solo song to be seen as the next 2 Live Crew single, despite not having rights to the group's name.
Luke Records filed for bankruptcy in the mid-1990s. Former Luke Records' Chief Financial Officer
Chief financial officer
The chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management...
Joseph "Lil' Joe" Weinberger acquired the Luke Records catalog, and reunified the original three members of 2 Live Crew without Luke during the mid-1990s to release music on Lil Joe Records. Some suggest Lil Joe deliberately forced Luke Records into bankruptcy over unpaid loans between the two men.
Lil Jon
Lil Jon
Jonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004...
(who used to produce Miami Bass records) has a vocal style not too dissimilar from Luke—in any case, they both (normally) do not rap and use guest rappers. Crunk music may be seen as the heir of Campbell's brand of Miami bass—both lyrically and musically.
Luke's latest album, My Life & Freaky Times
My Life & Freaky Times
My Life & Freaky Times is the eighth and -final album released by Luke. It was released on March 7, 2006 through Virgin Records and featured production from Luke himself, Petey Pablo and Nikki D, among others. The album was not much of a success, peaking at just #35 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums...
, was released in March 2006 and featured Trick Daddy
Trick Daddy
Maurice Young , better known by his stage name Trick Daddy, is a certified platinum American rapper and producer from Miami, Florida.-Music career:...
, Petey Pablo
Petey Pablo
Moses Mortimer Barrett III , known by the stage name Petey Pablo, is an American rapper from Greenville, North Carolina.-Biography:...
, Jacki-O
Jacki-O
Angela Kohn , better known as Jacki-O, is a Haitian American rapper from Miami, Florida, who is currently signed to her own label Jack Movement Entertainment. She got her first break in 2003 with the bawdy sex rap "Nookie" which garnered the MC comparisons to fellow Southern rappers Mia X and Trina...
, Pitbull
Pitbull (rapper)
Armando Christian Pérez , better known by his stage name Pitbull, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and record producer. His first recorded performance was from the Lil Jon album Kings of Crunk in 2002, after which he released his debut album in 2004 titled M.I.A.M.I. under TVT Records...
, Dirtbag, and Big Tigger
Big Tigger
Darian "Big Tigger" Morgan , also known as Big Tigg; is an American television and radio personality best known as the host of BET's Rap City and 106 & Park.- :...
to name a few. The first singles serviced to radio and the clubs from the compilation album were "Holla At Cha Homeboy", featuring Pitbull & Petey Pablo, and the reggaeton
Reggaeton
Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...
-leaning "Pop That" by Plan B
Plan B (duo)
Plan B is a Puerto Rican Reggaeton duo, consisting of Chencho , born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico and Maldy , born in Guayama, Puerto Rico...
and Rey Chester Secretweapon.
Association with University of Miami Hurricanes
Campbell was also infamous in the late 1980s–early 1990s for his association with the University of MiamiUniversity of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
Hurricanes football team
Miami Hurricanes football
The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...
. In 1993, he also once threatened to go public with various violations by the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
's athletic department, specifically their football program, if Ryan Collins, an African-American player, wasn't named their starting quarterback for that season.
Campbell was interviewed about his involvement with the Miami Hurricanes for the documentary The U
The U (documentary)
The U is a 2009 documentary film produced by Miami based media studio rakontur and directed by Billy Corben. The U covers the rise and dominance of the Miami Hurricanes football team during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
, which premiered December 12, 2009 on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.
Other ventures
Campbell appeared in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City StoriesGrand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a 2006 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar Leeds in association with Rockstar North. It was published by Rockstar Games for the PlayStation Portable in late 2006 and later for the PlayStation 2 in March 2007. The game is the eighth...
as DJ Luke for the hip-hop station Fresh 105 FM. Campbell hosts a sports talk show on Miami's 790 The Ticket with former football player Terry Kirby
Terry Kirby
Terry Gayle Kirby , is a former professional American football player who played ten seasons in the NFL from 1993 to 2002. A 6'1" running back from the University of Virginia...
on Saturdays.
Luke has recently entered the adult film industry and cites on his MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page the need to clean up the "sometimes amateurish new courtship of Hip-Hop and Adult Entertainment". He produced the Adult Entertainment movie "Luke's Bachelor Party" in 2007.
In December 2007, Campbell launched The Luke Entertainment Group and took the company public trading under the symbol LKEN on Pink Sheets
Pink Sheets
OTC Markets Group, Inc., informally known as "Pink Sheets", is a private company that provides services to the U.S. over-the-counter securities market including electronic quotations, trading, messaging, and information platforms. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, OTC...
. As of September 3, 2008, its current price is $0.01 per share. With this launching of Luke Entertainment Campbell had bought an oil company with the stock trading symbol of FPPL. Luther Campbell is also a legendary DJ member of The Worldwide DJ organization, The Core DJ's.
Personal life
Luther Campbell is of Jamaican and Bahamian ancestry and has three older brothers. He also has five children from previous relationships. He married lawyer Kristin Thompson on July 19, 2008 in Dallas, Texas.Campbell became a columnist for the Miami New Times in February 2010. His column, Luke's Gospel, provides "a forum for his crazy-ass views on current events," which include politics, sports and entertainment.
The New Times describes him as the man whose booty-shaking madness once made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech.
He is quoted on the web site as saying: "It's the perfect place for me. I am a free-speech guy. It's just a match made in Heaven. Can you believe it? Me turned loose on the world in New Times. Wow."
On February 2, 2011, Campbell announced his intention to run for mayor of Miami-Dade County on a platform that includes making housing projects safer, transparency in local government, and taxing strippers. He came in fourth in a field of eleven candidates, winning 11% of the vote.
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Hip-Hop Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
||||
| 1990 | The Luke LP The Luke LP The Luke LP, or Banned in the U.S.A.: The Luke LP is an alternate version of 2 Live Crew's Banned in the U.S.A. and was marketed as Luther Campbell's debut album, though there were only minor changes to the track listing, notably, remixes to "Banned in the U.S.A. and "Mama Juanita"... |
21 | 10 | ||
| 1992 | I Got Shit on My Mind I Got Shit on My Mind I Got Shit on My Mind is the second album released by Luther Campbell. It was released on November 9, 1992 on Luke Records through their distribution deal with Atlantic Records and was mainly produced by Mike "Fresh" McCray... |
52 | 20 | ||
| 1993 | In the Nude In the Nude In the Nude is the third album released by Luther Campbell. It was released on July 12, 1993 for Luke Records and was produced by Mike "Fresh" McCray and John "Swift" Catalon. In the Nude was another success for Luke, making it #54 on the Billboard 200 and #8 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The... |
54 | 8 | ||
| 1994 | Freak for Life Freak for Life Freak for Life 6996 is the fourth album released by Luther Campbell. It was released on July 11, 1994 through Luke Records and was produced by Darren "DJ Spin" Rudnick, Mike "Fresh" McCray, DJ Slice and Lazaro Mendez... |
174 | 24 | ||
| 1996 | Uncle Luke Uncle Luke Uncle Luke is the fifth album released by Luther Campbell. It was released on June 14, 1996 through Luke Records and was mainly produced by Darren "DJ Spin" Rudnick, and Rod XL, with additional production by Frankie Cutlass, Ice Cube and Doug E. Fresh... |
51 | 8 | ||
| 1997 | Changin' the Game Changin' the Game Changin' the Game is the sixth album released by Luke. It was released on November 11, 1997 on the Island Black Music label in collaboration with Luke Records and featured production from Campbell, Rod XL, Lil' Jon and Louis "Ugly" Howard... |
- | 49 | ||
| 2001 | Somethin' Nasty Somethin' Nasty Somethin' Nasty is the seventh album released by Luke. It was released on March 13, 2001 on Luke Records through Koch Records' short-lived independent label distribution unit, KELA and featured production by Luke's former 2 Live Crew bandmate, Mr. Mixx, Luke and Daz Dillinger... |
149 | 36 | ||
| 2006 | My Life & Freaky Times My Life & Freaky Times My Life & Freaky Times is the eighth and -final album released by Luke. It was released on March 7, 2006 through Virgin Records and featured production from Luke himself, Petey Pablo and Nikki D, among others. The album was not much of a success, peaking at just #35 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums... |
- | 35 | ||
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart or not released | |||||
Compilation albums
- 1996: Greatest HitsGreatest Hits (Luke album)Greatest Hits is the first compilation album released by Luke.-Track listing:#"It's Your Birthday" – 3:42#"Dr. Dre is a Bitch Ass" [Cowards in Compton Deathrow Remix] – 5:48#"Head, Head, & More Head, Pt...
- 2000: Luke's Freak Fest 2000Luke's Freak Fest 2000Luke's Freak Fest 2000 is a compilation album released by Luke, featuring new material from Luke and several other artists. It was released on March 7, 2000 for Relativity Records and featured production from Luther Campbell and Herb Powers...
- 2002: Scandalous: The All Star CompilationScandalous: The All Star CompilationScandalous: The All Star Compilation is a compilation album containing songs by Luther Campbell and a variety of other musicians including Big Punisher, Cam'ron and Trick Daddy.-Track listing:...