But in many of these cases, the controversy was the result of a fight for freedom. 2 Live Crew has ruffled plenty of feathers with the lyrics of songs like “The Fuck Shop,” “Face Down, Ass Up,” “Pop That Coochie,” and “Me So Horny,” and while they may seem gratuitous, the court cases they spawned are landmarks in the fight for freedom of speech. The group has also consistently
Though 2 Live Crew has been pushing boundaries for over two decades, Kid Fresh Ice, one of the group’s original members, told the Texan that, today, the Miami-based group is more interested in comforting than confronting. He explains that “our whole goal when we started was to make good party music for people to enjoy. Right now, we’re in a recession, so people want to go out and have a good time. That’s what we’re here for, to give you that relief for a few hours – you can forget your problems and have a good time.”
2 Live Crew works to facilitate that escape by making sure that audiences hear the songs that they know and love. Kid Fresh Ice forecasted that the Austin show will have “a couple new things in there, but we know most of the people want to hear the classics, so we’ll give them a lot of the classics. All the hits they want to hear, they’ll hear.”
For many younger listeners, a knowledge of those hits has come from a flock of newer bands and rappers who are sampling the older works of 2 Live Crew. When asked how it feels to be sampled after so many years of fighting for sampling rights, Kid Fresh Ice laughed and explained that “sampling shows that our music is still relevant today and that we’ve had some influence over some of these groups. It’s a good thing. It’s a form of respect.”
The respect that 2 Live Crew has garnered in many ways stems from its members’ constant effort and energy. In an era when many rappers mumble through live appearances, the group remembers that in order to, as Kid Fresh Ice puts it, “make good party music,” there needs to be a party atmosphere. Though it might not have shone through on the group’s 1990 live album (often considered the very first live rap album), 2 Live Crew can work a crowd like only true veterans can. And that’s because, both in the court room and on stage, they are.
But in many of these cases, the controversy was the result of a fight for freedom. 2 Live Crew has ruffled plenty of feathers with the lyrics of songs like “The Fuck Shop,” “Face Down, Ass Up,” “Pop That Coochie,” and “Me So Horny,” and while they may seem gratuitous, the court cases they spawned are landmarks in the fight for freedom of speech. The group has also consistently
Though 2 Live Crew has been pushing boundaries for over two decades, Kid Fresh Ice, one of the group’s original members, told the Texan that, today, the Miami-based group is more interested in comforting than confronting. He explains that “our whole goal when we started was to make good party music for people to enjoy. Right now, we’re in a recession, so people want to go out and have a good time. That’s what we’re here for, to give you that relief for a few hours – you can forget your problems and have a good time.”
2 Live Crew works to facilitate that escape by making sure that audiences hear the songs that they know and love. Kid Fresh Ice forecasted that the Austin show will have “a couple new things in there, but we know most of the people want to hear the classics, so we’ll give them a lot of the classics. All the hits they want to hear, they’ll hear.”
For many younger listeners, a knowledge of those hits has come from a flock of newer bands and rappers who are sampling the older works of 2 Live Crew. When asked how it feels to be sampled after so many years of fighting for sampling rights, Kid Fresh Ice laughed and explained that “sampling shows that our music is still relevant today and that we’ve had some influence over some of these groups. It’s a good thing. It’s a form of respect.”
The respect that 2 Live Crew has garnered in many ways stems from its members’ constant effort and energy. In an era when many rappers mumble through live appearances, the group remembers that in order to, as Kid Fresh Ice puts it, “make good party music,” there needs to be a party atmosphere. Though it might not have shone through on the group’s 1990 live album (often considered the very first live rap album), 2 Live Crew can work a crowd like only true veterans can. And that’s because, both in the court room and on stage, they are.
