Luther Campbell

Luther R. Campbell, also known as Luke Skyywalker, Uncle Luke or Luke, is a rapper and record producer perhaps best known for his work with 2 Live Crew.

Related Topics:
Rap - Record producer - 2 Live Crew

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Campbell's work as a performer can be characterised as Southern rap; most of it is part of the Miami bass sub-genre. The sexual content of his lyrics caused controversy and led to legal cases. Usually, Campbell does not rap but shout or chant rather than rap - very often in a call & response manner, with him calling and the crowd responding. He was not an original member of the 2 Live Crew, but only joined them after their first steps as a Californian rap crew. Only through Campbell they became Southern rappers. Their pre-Campbell recordings did not include any pornographic lyrics. Luke's first LP, "Banned in the USA", was basically a 2 Live Crew record. When Brother Marquis left the group, Luke began working with guest rappers.

Related Topics:
Southern rap - Miami bass

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Luke himself started rapping on the album "Freak for Life", but he basically remained true to his call & response style. It may be interesting to note that Lil Jon (who used to produce Miami bass records) has a vocal style not too dissimilar from Luke - in any case, they both (normally) don't rap and use guest rappers. Crunk music may be seen as the heir of Campbell's brand of Miami bass - both lyrically and musically.

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Campbell runs Luke Records, which shortened its name from Luke Skyywalker Records after George Lucas filed a legal case against them for infringing on the name of his Star Wars character, Luke Skywalker.

Related Topics:
George Lucas - Star Wars - Luke Skywalker

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Campbell was also infamous in the late 1980s-early 1990s for his association with the University of Miami football team. Stories have been told about Campbell offering "bounties" to Miami players for scoring touchdowns, intercepting passes, sacking quarterbacks, and knocking opposing players out of games.

Related Topics:
1980s - 1990s - University of Miami

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