2 Live Crew

Dirty rappers from Miami who got in a lot of legal trouble for titillating sixteen-year-old boys with lyrics like "Hey, we want some pussy" and "Throw that dick." Harmless fun for a more enlightened generation.

Information: The 2 Live Crew Unofficial Homepage
Suggested first purchase/album: As Nasty As They Wanna Be
Suggested best of: 2 Live Crew's Greatest Hits

As Nasty As They Wanna Be (1989) -- The number one classic of all dirty albums, perfect for little boys who want to learn more about dicks and pussies. As you get older, you realize that the form of misogyny the album takes is phallus worship, almost in a primitive, pagan way. Aside from the content and controversy (this, of course, was the album that was banned from being sold and one of the first records to use the "parental advisory" sticker), lots of the songs are pretty good, especially those on Side A from Luke Skyywalker: "Put Her in the Buck," "D.K. Almighty," "C'mon Babe," and of course the huge hit "Me So Horny." On the best songs, the samples are expertly used and the Miami beats still sound great. The album eventually goes long (it's four sides, after all) and some of the latter songs get a little dull ("The F--k Shop" and "If You Believe In Having Sex" are standouts there). A greatest hits album would serve listeners better (though there's not a good one yet), but this is the one to get if you wanna give your props to the first amendment. Also be on the lookout for As Clean As They Wanna Be, the Bowdlerized version which is worth getting for the alternate versions of some of the songs (notably "Me So Horny" as well as some new songs that don't appear on this collection. B