2 Live Crew On Video : VIDEO REVIEW : A Safe Sampler of the Uproar

When is it going to stop with 2 Live Crew?

The notoriety following the Miami rap group’s “As Nasty as They Wanna Be” album being declared obscene last June by a federal judge has led to a hit answer record--”Banned in the U.S.A.”--and now the home video--also titled “Banned in the U.S.A.

Can a “Banned in the U.S.A.” book or T-shirt and car window reflector be far behind?

2 Live Crew is turning into the biggest cottage industry in show business since the Simpsons and Ninja Turtles.

You might not like group leader Luther Campbell’s crude sense of humor--his albums are mostly X-rated sexcapades in the old party-record style--but you’ve got to admire his ability to take advantage of what could have been crippling adversity.

He couldn’t have asked for a home video that better showcased his story if he paid for it--which, in effect, he did. Campbell is executive director of the 47-minute “Banned in the U.S.A.” home video, and it is released through A*Vision, the home video arm of Atlantic Records, which released Campbell’s “Banned in the U.S.A.” album.

Primarily, Campbell had the good sense here to enlist Penelope Spheeris, who has directed several outstanding films about other rebel pop genres, including punk and heavy metal. This home video isn’t in the same artistic league as her films. It lacks the objectivity and scope of those works.

Still, it’s a more revealing way to sample the 2 Live Crew uproar than any of the group’s albums. Spheeris mixes the rappers’ promo videos with tapes of the group being interviewed by everyone from Phil Donahue to Miami reporters, and throws in some opponents of the group, who denounce the sexually explicit nature of the group’s music and stage show.

Most striking, however, is the footage by Spheeris’ crew: the live show, including some audience participation in the steamy antics, and the ugliness of a crowd tearing up a Texas ballroom after 2 Live Crew canceled an appearance because of a financial dispute with promoters.

Campbell’s reaction to the latter shows just how adroit he is at making the best of a bad situation. Who else could view footage of the riot and--noting the interracial make-up of the crowd that is demolishing the room’s furniture--declare the commotion a victory for integration?