2 Live Crew

The 2 Live Crew has talked about reuniting in 2004 for a final 2 Live Crew album and tour. On July 19, 2004 ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead gave their OK for inclusion in the Internet Archive. Mixx left soon after leaving Fresh Kid Ice and Brother Marquis to record The Real One in 1998. Policy may be venue dependent though. Mr. Board access is no problem as long as they are consulted before hand. Mixx and Brother Marquis left Luke and Luke Records to go to Lil' Joe Records and recorded/released Shake a Lil' Somethin'. ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead has the following taping and trading policy: The band appreciates taping as long as they get a copy of the show.

The Crew was to reunite for an album but the reunion was short lived as Fresh Kid Ice, Mr. The release has however been postponed several times and was originally to be released in October 2004. Mixx reformed again, to record "Hoochie Mama" for the soundtrack to the movie Friday. Trail of Dead released a new album Worlds Apart on January 25, 2005 on their new label Interscope Records. Luke, Fresh Kid Ice, Brother Marquis and Mr. The EP took some by surprise for some of its more adventurous and experimental songs, namely the electronic track "Intelligence" which was pulled from Reece's side-project A Roman Scandal. The New 2 Live Crew broke up in 1995. A follow-up EP to Source Tags & Codes was released in April of 2003, titled The Secret of Elena's Tomb.

The Supreme Court ruled this to be fair use. In early 2002, Trail of Dead released Source Tags & Codes to immediate critical acclaim, and made numerous critics' year-end top 10 lists. The Crew had parodied the original on the album As Nasty As They Wanna Be without permission. They quickly released the Relative Ways EP in 2001. 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 band signed to Interscope Records after Jimmy Iovine, president of Interscope, read about them in a magazine. 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-Four. "Madonna" became a moderate success and garnered the band major-label interest.

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. Trail of Dead moved on to Merge after the Trance label went defunct. The band released Madonna on Merge in the fall of 1999. Fresh Kid Ice and Mr. By 1998 they had issued their first release (a live cassette on local Golden Hour Records), a self-titled full-length on Trance Syndicate. 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. They then officially changed their name to "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead" (adding the conjunction and then the ellipses for effect). The 2 Live Crew members went their own ways after this. The band expanded to include guitarist Kevin Allen and bassist Neil Busch.

Neither lived up to the sales that they experienced with As Nasty As They Wanna Be. Dissatisfied with the northwest, the two ventured south to Austin, Texas and started playing as a duo under the moniker, "You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead". In 1991, 2 Live Crew released the very first live rap album, Live in Concert, and Sports Weekend, a full-length studio original. Reece fronted the band while living there. The publicity then continued when George Lucas, owner of the Star Wars universe, sued Luke Skyywalker for appropriating the name from his franchise. Skyywalker changed his 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. Keely and Reece have been friends since their youth, meeting originally in Hawaii. They formed their first band, Mukilteo Fairies, in 1994 and soon moved to Olympia, Washington. A few other retailers were later arrested for selling it as well. (On some songs, bass player Neil Busch sings lead vocals).

As a result of the controversy, As Nasty As They Wanna Be sold over two million copies. The two switch between drumming and lead vocals and guitar, both on their records and during their shows. They were acquitted soon after. The chief creative element of the band consists of Jason Reece and Conrad Keely. 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. According to the band's website, the name "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead" is taken from an ancient Mayan ritual chant. That June, Judge Jose Gonzalez ruled against the album, declaring it obscene and illegal to sell. ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead is an indie rock band best known for their heavy-yet-anthemic music and their tendency to destroy their equipment at the end of their performances (a rock and roll tradition usually associated with The Who).

2 Live Crew filed a suit against Navarro. Navarro warned record store owners that selling the album may be prosecutable. A lawyer affiliated with the AFA, Jack Thompson, met with Florida Governor Bob Martinez and convinced him to look in 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. The American Family Association, a conservative group, did not think the presence of a "Parental Advisory" sticker was enough to adequately warn listeners of what was inside the case.

The song was based on a quote from a Vietnamese prostitute in Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. 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. A record store clerk in Alabama was cited and fined for selling a copy to an undercover cop in 1988, though the verdict was overturned on appeal. Skyywalker decided to sell a clean version of the next album, Move Somethin' (1987).

Though the controversy did not rise to the future levels, a Florida store clerk was charged and acquitted of felony charges for selling the album to a fourteen-year-old girl in 1987. The record went gold. 1986 saw the release of 2 Live Is What We Are, featuring profane and sexually graphic lyrics. They received a record deal from Luke Skyywalker, who was a manager and eventual performer.

They released Revelation in 1985; the single sold well in Florida and Mixx and Kid Ice moved there, releasing What I Like along with Brother Marquis. Mixx and Amazing V. 2 Live Crew began in California, consisting of Fresh Kid Ice, DJ Mr. 2 Live Crew is one of the most controversial rap groups ever, largely due to the sexual themes of one album, As Nasty As They Wanna Be (1989).