Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness once made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, Luke explains why a 2 Live Crew reunion tour will prove booty music desegregated hip-hop.
After 2 Live Crew and I performed at the 2010 Vh1 Hip-Hop Honors show, I began negotiations with their manager to give the public what they want. Music fans want to see the original members of 2 Live Crew performing on stage together. That's because we were the first rap group to appeal to every demographic in America even though we didn't get any respect from rappers in New York like Run DMC, Eric B & Rakim, and Salt-N-Pepa. They used to boycott our shows and go on BET to talk smack about 2 Live Crew and Luke Records.
We weren't getting any respect in the hip-hop game because no one believed southern rappers could sell out shows on the regular and go platinum. We proved them wrong day in and day out. Two Live Crew paved the way for T.I., Lil Wayne, Pitbull, and Rick Ross to succeed in the rap game by being the first group to take on the east coast hip-hop elitists.
Today, Miami booty music still doesn't get the respect it deserves. Last year, 2 Live Crew and other old school Florida rappers were not invited to the Legends of Hip-Hop Tour featuring Salt-N-Pepa, Dougie Fresh, Kool Moe Dee, Big Daddy Kane and Kurtis Blow.
Based on the success of their tour, I decided to put together the Lollapolooza of Bass music. Dj Magic Mike, the 69 Boyz, Quad City Djs, Dj Kool, JT Money and Poison Clan, and Sir Mix-A-Lot are joining 2 Live Crew for a 20-city tour this summer. All these artists sold millions of records and sold out shows across the country and the world, but they have never gotten any recognition. I'm also working on adding Lil John to tie present day Southern rap to the past.
This tour is going to show the public we're the ones who really diversified hip-hop. Bass music is party music. It doesn't matter if you were black, Asian or Jewish, everybody loved songs like "Me So Horny," "I Wanna Rock," "Daisy Dukes" and "Shake What Ya Momma Gave Ya." They still do.
There is not a day that goes by that I don't run into Cuban and Jewish lawyers and doctors in their mid-thirties, men and women, who tell me how they loved jamming to 2 Live Crew as teenagers. Anyone who comes to the show is going to be partying their ass off for three straight hours.
This reunion is going to be bigger than David Lee Roth and Van Halen getting back together after 27 years apart. I'm very excited about it.
Follow Uncle Luke on Twitter @unclelukereal1.
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