1990 ""2 Live Crew" hip hop album controversary...
Item # 728707
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Sunday CALENDAR SECTION only of the Los Angeles Times, March 25, 1990
* Hip Hop group "2 Live Crew" rap music
* "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" album
* Luther Campbell & First Amendment
* Obscenity censorship ban question
Often revered as the undisputed "bible" of Hollywood, the Sunday Calendar section occupied a rare space in journalism where a single publication could simultaneously dictate global entertainment trends and govern the inner workings of show business. Today, physical copies are an absolute rarity, largely because they were printed on standard, ephemeral newsprint designed to be devoured and promptly discarded at the end of the week.
Page 80 has a piece by Chuck Phillips on the controversial hip hop group "2 Live Crew" with heading: "A Rapper Under Siege Fires Back" and 2 related photos. (see images)
I suspect this to be an extremely rare item because there was really no reason to save it at the time.
Provenance note: This issue comes from The Los Angeles Times own archives, part of their in-house collection used to create their digital archive. Rare as such.
Complete Calendar section only with all 120 pages, tabloid size, very nice condition.
Background: The March 25, 1990 edition of the Los Angeles Times Calendar section stands out as a crucial snapshot of American culture at a crossroads, centered on Chuck Phillips’ insightful coverage of 2 Live Crew amidst escalating legal pressure over their controversial album As Nasty As They Wanna Be. Published immediately following Florida Sheriff Nick Navarro’s aggressive campaign to ban the record and arrest retail clerks selling it, Phillips’ writing tackled the brewing First Amendment crisis not as mere tabloid shock, but as a critical examination of institutional censorship, corporate music industry panic, and racial double standards in law enforcement. The issue captured group leader Luther Campbell defending hip-hop’s tradition of sexual parody and street humor, forcing mainstream readers to confront whether a Black rap group was being singled out for obscenity charges that rock or white comedic acts routinely escaped. By chronicling the immediate fallout of the Florida crackdown just months before As Nasty As They Wanna Be became the first album in U.S. history declared legally obscene by a federal judge, this specific issue serves as a vital artifact documenting the dawn of the 1990s "Culture Wars," the introduction of mandatory parental advisory labels, and the emergence of rap music as a formidable political and artistic force.
* Hip Hop group "2 Live Crew" rap music
* "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" album
* Luther Campbell & First Amendment
* Obscenity censorship ban question
Often revered as the undisputed "bible" of Hollywood, the Sunday Calendar section occupied a rare space in journalism where a single publication could simultaneously dictate global entertainment trends and govern the inner workings of show business. Today, physical copies are an absolute rarity, largely because they were printed on standard, ephemeral newsprint designed to be devoured and promptly discarded at the end of the week.
Page 80 has a piece by Chuck Phillips on the controversial hip hop group "2 Live Crew" with heading: "A Rapper Under Siege Fires Back" and 2 related photos. (see images)
I suspect this to be an extremely rare item because there was really no reason to save it at the time.
Provenance note: This issue comes from The Los Angeles Times own archives, part of their in-house collection used to create their digital archive. Rare as such.
Complete Calendar section only with all 120 pages, tabloid size, very nice condition.
Background: The March 25, 1990 edition of the Los Angeles Times Calendar section stands out as a crucial snapshot of American culture at a crossroads, centered on Chuck Phillips’ insightful coverage of 2 Live Crew amidst escalating legal pressure over their controversial album As Nasty As They Wanna Be. Published immediately following Florida Sheriff Nick Navarro’s aggressive campaign to ban the record and arrest retail clerks selling it, Phillips’ writing tackled the brewing First Amendment crisis not as mere tabloid shock, but as a critical examination of institutional censorship, corporate music industry panic, and racial double standards in law enforcement. The issue captured group leader Luther Campbell defending hip-hop’s tradition of sexual parody and street humor, forcing mainstream readers to confront whether a Black rap group was being singled out for obscenity charges that rock or white comedic acts routinely escaped. By chronicling the immediate fallout of the Florida crackdown just months before As Nasty As They Wanna Be became the first album in U.S. history declared legally obscene by a federal judge, this specific issue serves as a vital artifact documenting the dawn of the 1990s "Culture Wars," the introduction of mandatory parental advisory labels, and the emergence of rap music as a formidable political and artistic force.
Category: The 20th Century
Price
$58
100% Authentic: Original printing, never a reproduction.