Luther "Luke" Campbell has spent plenty of time in the media spotlight, both in his solo rap career and throughout the '80s and '90s as the leader of 2 Live Crew. As an indispensable part of that group's image and sound, he played a major role defining the rap troupe that would begin and end all arguments about the lack of taste and surplus of graphic sexual material in the genre.

After the Crew found a following in Miami in the '80s, Luke--who was going by the moniker of Luke Skyywalker at the time--acted as their manager and band leader as well as a performer. In 1987, the group's songs were considered so sexually explicit that a record store clerk was charged with a felony obscenity charge after selling a copy of 2 Live Crew is What We Are to a 14-year-old girl. It was Luke that hit upon the idea of crafting a sanitized version of their records for sale to a younger market. This strategy would pay off when the media began to demonize the group for their suggestive lyrics and misogynistic messages.

In 1990, Luke released his solo debut, Banned in the U.S.A., the cover of which featured a clever parody of Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. The music was as outrageous as most of his work with 2 Live Crew, however, and when his follow-up was issued--1993's I Got S--t on My Mind, as well as the sanitized (and therefore shorter) I Got Sumthin' on My Mind--a well-publicized lawsuit over the content of the music made him a proud and vocal supporter of the First Amendment. As all suits like these do, it only served to increase the popularity of the objectionable content in question.

Luke would release albums interminably throughout the '90s and '00s, and would be remembered largely for his comedy sketches, which hardcore rap fans still enjoy to this day.