The jury paves the way for the 2 Live Crew to regain control of records that changed hip-hop

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Miami’s 2 Live crew has helped reshape the legal landscape surrounding hip hop, pushing the boundaries of free expression and taste with their provocative and sexually explicit recordings, resulting in groundbreaking Court decisions have led to the protection of artists’ rights.

But for decades, hip-hop legends had no legal control over them iconic discographyafter giving up their rights to the records in a bankruptcy case that followed their legal battles in the 1990s.

Now a jury verdict paves the way for the group’s surviving members and the heirs of the two, now deceased, to reclaim five of their early albums after a years-long copyright dispute with a record company. The company is in the process of filing an appeal.

“We won,” 2 Live crew member Luther Campbell, also known as Uncle Luke, said in a video posted to social media following Wednesday’s decision. “All albums! We got them all back!”

The copyright dispute was brought by Lil’ Joe Records, which bought the rights to two Live Crew albums after the group’s record company filed for bankruptcy in 1995.

In 2020, 2 Live Crew members and heirs told Lil’ Joe that they were terminating their copyrights and that ownership of the albums would revert to the artists. In response, Lil’ Joe sued, arguing that the company retained the copyrights from the bankruptcy agreement.

The federal jury in Florida ruled in favor of 2 Live Crew and the heirs.

“Our team is proud to have been a part of this historic process,” attorney Scott Burroughs said in a statement to The Associated Press. “Our overwhelming and complete victory at trial will hopefully serve as a beacon and encourage other artists to pursue the legal process to regain their copyrights.”

Richard Wolfe, an attorney representing Lil’ Joe, disputed the group’s claims and said the terms of the bankruptcy meant his client retained all rights. He said the fight isn’t over yet.

“It’s the second round of a 10-round fight,” Wolfe said. “We have always said that this case will not be decided at the trial court level. It will be decided at the appellate level or possibly at the Supreme Court level.”

The records in question include the 1989 release “As Nasty As They Wanna Be,” which includes the tracks “Me So Horny” and “The F-Shop.” Police officers in South Florida thought it was so scandalous they were arrested a record store owner for sales.

Campbell and his 2 Live Crewmate Christopher Wong Won and Fresh Kid Ice, respectively, were also arrested on obscenity charges after performing songs from the album. In 1992 a Federal appeals court overturned a court ruling that found the album obscene.

Also at stake is the track “Pretty Woman,” which samples Roy Orbison’s 1964 classic. A dispute over 2 Live Crew’s remix of the song went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously in 1994 that the group’s parody of the original constituted fair use.

The first of those rulings was a stunning victory for free expression that goes beyond rap, according to University of Richmond professor Erik Nielson, an expert on hip-hop and law who grew up listening to 2 Live Crew. And the second helped reinforce a fundamental element of the genre’s sound: remixing older music to create something new.

“It’s hard to overstate the importance of these rulings and 2 Live Crew’s role in creating specific spaces for artistic expression,” Nielson said.

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Kate Payne is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.