Cover art from 2 Live Crew album As Nasty As They Wanna Be.]]''As Nasty As They Wanna Be'' (1989) became the group's biggest hit, largely because of the single "Me So Horny", which was popular in spite of little radio play, thanks, in part, to prevalent play on MTV. The song was based on a quote from a Vietnamese prostitute in Stanley Kubrick's ''Full Metal Jacket''.The American Family Association did not think the presence of a "Parental Advisory" sticker was enough to adequately warn listeners of what was inside the case. Jack Thompson, a lawyer affiliated with the AFA, met with Florida Governor Bob Martinez and convinced him to look into the album to see if it met the legal classification of "obscene." It was decided in 1990 that action should be taken at the local level and Nick Navarro, Broward County sheriff received a ruling from Judge Mel Grossman that probable cause for obscenity violations existed. Navarro warned record store owners that selling the album may be prosecutable. 2 Live Crew filed a suit against Navarro. That June, Judge Jose Gonzalez ruled against the album, declaring it obscene and illegal to sell. Charles Freeman, a local retailer, was arrested two days later after selling a copy to an undercover police officers, followed by the arrest of three members of 2 Live Crew after they performed some material from the album at a performance. They were acquitted soon after.As a result of the controversy, ''As Nasty As They Wanna Be'' sold over two million copies. A few other retailers were later arrested for selling it as well. The publicity then continued when George Lucas, owner of the Star Wars universe, sued Mr. Campbell for appropriating the name from his franchise. Mr. Campbell changed his stage name to Luke and then released an extremely political solo album Banned in the USA, legally securing the rights to Bruce Springsteen's ''Born in the USA''.In 1991, 2 Live Crew released the very first live rap album, ''Live in Concert'', and ''Sports Weekend'', a full-length studio original. Neither lived up to the sales that they experienced with ''As Nasty As They Wanna Be''. The 2 Live Crew members went their own ways after this.In 1992, a Court of Appeals overturned the obscenity ruling from Jose Gonzales, and the decision was then upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. Fresh Kid Ice and Mr. Mixx released unreleased tracks from pre-Luke 2 Live Crew Deal With This under the name Rock on Crew, while Luke and Ice also released new solo albums, ''I Got Shit on My Mind'' and ''The Chinaman'', respectively.
The New 2 Live Crew
1994 saw Luke, Fresh Kid Ice and Verb (a new addition), regrouping as The New 2 Live Crew, issuing ''Back at Your Ass for the Nine-4''. During this time the lawsuit brought about by the estate of Roy Orbison, the copyright owners of "Oh, Pretty Woman," went to the Supreme Court. The Crew had parodied the original on the album ''As Nasty As They Wanna Be'' without permission. The Supreme Court adopted a rule from an earlier Ninth Circuit case ''Fisher v. Dees. 794 F.2d 432'' (9th Cir. 1986) involving Rick Dees, and ruled that 2 Live Crew's parody was fair use (''Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music'' (92-1292), 510 U.S. 569 (1994)). The New 2 Live Crew broke up in 1995.