80’s Flashback

2 Live Crew, Me So Horny, 1989. Using the music of Mass Production’s 1979 hit Firecracker and a vocal sample from Full Metal Jacket, this track took the Miami-based rappers to the top of the charts, to jail, and eventually, to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that freedom of speech protected the group from charges of obscenity. The album that spawned Me So Horny, As Nasty As They Wanna Be, is often cited as launching a now two-decade run of over-the-top hip-hop misogyny. TRIVIA: You might enjoy the parody Oy, It’s So Humid, by 2 Live Jews. DISCLOSURE: I had to work with 2 Live Crew’s label, Luke Records, while working for a record distributor in Miami. They were always horrible to me.