From “Me So Horny” to “I solemnly swear … ?”
Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, a rapper who shot to fame in the late 1980s with the raunchy rap group 2 Live Crew, certainly hopes to make that improbable journey.
Campbell is running to represent Florida’s 20th District in the U.S. House. That seat had been held by U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, and the district used to include portions of Palm Beach County.
But Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat, resigned on April 21, moments before the House Ethics Committee was set to vote on whether to expel her amid allegations that she funneled COVID relief money to a previous campaign.
Republicans in the state Legislature redrew District 20’s borders, pulling out the Palm Beach County sections and making the district an all-Broward County seat.
Campbell is running in the Democratic Party primary. He has worked as a high school football coach and community activist in Broward, but he is best known for his work with 2 Live Crew, which sparked outrage — and album sales — when its 1989 song, “Me So Horny,” rocketed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart.
The song drove sales of the Crew’s album, “As Nasty As They Wanna Be,” which reached No. 3 on the rap album chart.
Critics attempted to ban “Me So Horny,” which included lines such as ‘I’m like a dog in heat, a freak without warning, I have an appetite for sex, ’cause me so horny.’ But the group won a series of legal battles, and “Me So Horny:” remains a cult throwback that draws as much bemusement as it does outrage.
It appears the Crew’s notoriety, however, is complicating Campbell’s congressional run.
He recently posted a video to his Facebook page saying he had been barred from holding a town hall at a local YMCA. Campbell said he believes a politician called the Y’s director and told him not to allow Campbell to participate.
“Shame on you whoever made that call,” Campbell says in the video. “God don’t like ugly.”
Campbell raised just over $37,000 through March 31, U.S. Federal Election Commission reports show. He is trailing several of his Democratic primary opponents in fundraising.
Debbie Wasserman Shultz, who has drawn criticism for running for a seat originally created to increase the likelihood a Black candidate would win it, has raised nearly $2.5 million in her District 20 quest. Elijah Manley, who ran for a seat on the Broward County School Board after the Parkland shooting, has raised $779,839. And Dale Holness, a former Broward County Commission member, has raised $306,516.
The primary is scheduled for Aug. 18.
2 Live Crew star latest pop musician to seek seat in U.S. House
Campbell and his fellow Democrats have similar priorities — expanding access to health care, lowering the cost of living, job creation. But only Campbell, 65, has been on “The Arsenio Hall Show” and performed at the Grammys.
Campbell, of course, is not the first person to use his music fame to launch a bid for Congress. Sonny Bono of the 1960s pop duo Sonny and Cher won a seat in Congress, representing a California district in the late 1990s. John Hall of New York, the founding front man of the band 1970s rock band Orleans, served in the U.S. House from 2007 to 2011.
As is typical for someone making their first run for Congress, Campbell has been pushing a message of change.
That message has resonated with some District 20 voters, including a man who posted a simple message on Campbell’s Facebook page: “Me so horny for change!”
Wayne Washington is a journalist covering education and Riviera Beach development for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Remember 2 Live Crew? Rap star runs for Congress in South Florida
Reporting by Wayne Washington, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Wayne Washington, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
