Today They’re Trying to Censor Rap, Tomorrow . . .

The First Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech. . . .” This same clause has been incorporated into the 14th Amendment so that the very same restrictions that apply to Congress apply to the states as well.

In other words, the government has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter or its content. So what’s the problem? I write a few songs that are purely for adult entertainment and the whole world is after me.

Either there’s a double standard regarding rap music and other entertainment or the Salem witch hunt has returned, and I have been labeled the head warlock.

Today’s society is based on sex--just look at how many strip bars and how much pornographic literature is available. Why condemn me--a black artist and entrepreneur--for my particular brand of adult entertainment?

There’s a new breed of sheriff turning the music industry upside down. A few right-wing individuals have appointed themselves the judge and jury for what’s right and wrong.

It’s amazing to me, how during interviews those right-wing individuals neglect to point out that clean versions of all my records are geared toward minors and that I voluntarily sticker all of my adult material.

I hope that these people who are pointing fingers are really standing up for the First Amendment and are not using the American flag to hide behind racist motives. I own and operate one of the largest independent recording companies around, and that could be why I was singled out. People need to realize that I’m not in stores with guns to customers’ heads forcing them to buy my albums. It’s freedom of choice, and that’s what America is supposed to be about.

America, the home of the free, and our just legal system, which is supposed to be the finest in the world, helped show the world how organized our judicial system really is. After a week of selecting an unbiased jury and another week of spending taxpayers’ money (on a crime that has the same punishment as stealing a hubcap), we were victorious, but at what cost?

It seems to me that our priorities are all in the wrong order. We have an outrageous amount of people sleeping in the streets and without anything to eat, but we find rappers more important.

Our environment is slowly being pulled apart, and we put people in jail for a bunch of words. Kids can’t read or write, but that’s not enough. We don’t want them to think for themselves either. Sometimes I wonder what the starving people in Ethiopia would think about the money we’ve wasted on taking this to court.

Right now, I don’t think we’re setting a good example for our future leaders. How can anyone say that an adult can’t go into a store and buy what he or she wants? How can anyone say that an adult can’t understand what the 2 Live Crew is all about? If anyone can’t see that the 2 Live Crew is a comedy group, then I feel sorry for them. We have placed warning stickers on our albums and put out two versions of each album--an adult and a G version--in order to satisfy the public. And as far as I know, we’re the only band that does that.

Our victory should be sweeter. Charles Freeman, the Broward County, Fla., record store owner convicted for selling “As Nasty as They Wanna Be” to an adult, should also be celebrating. Freeman only sold “As Nasty as They Wanna Be” to adults. We did our part, and he did his. I do not believe that his conviction is representative of Broward County.

Every day we get calls from people throughout Florida wanting to know what they can do to help. And we tell them the best thing they can do is vote.

A number of the staff members of Luke Records have been deputized to register voters and have made efforts to go to local malls, sports events, flea markets, nightclubs and many other places to encourage young adults to register and vote. Our staff has registered more than 40,000 in Dade and Broward counties alone this year.

And for anyone who says that rap is not black culture, all I have to say is that I’m a black man who has lived in one of the roughest black areas in Miami--Liberty City--and this is my culture. This is a part of what I grew up with. Every day there was some guy trying to outboast another, and the only things off limit were mothers and the deceased. 2 Live Crew’s music--and lyrics--is nothing but a group of fellas bragging.

The best thing to come out of this entire fiasco was that the music industry united and stood up for one another. Ads ran in major newspapers and on music networks asking people to prevent censorship. We were heard as a collective musical voice because we know that today they’re trying to censor rap and tomorrow it could be classical music or theater or . . .