Photograph of Luther Campbell and the 2 Live Crew: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Three identical color photographs of the hip hop group 2 Live Crew, from a photo shoot for their album Banned in the USA. The four members of the group are posing sideways, in front of an American flag, with their proper right hands raised in a salute. Standing from left to right are 2 Live Crew members Luther Campbell, Fresh Kid-Ice, Brother Marquis, and Mr. Mixx. Luther Campbell and Brother Marquis are wearing identical tee-shirts with an illustration on the front of man’s head with his mouth covered by a white gloved hand with a partial red, white and blue sleeve with white stars. Above and below the illustration is the text [CENSORSHIP / IS / AMERICAN]. Fresh Kid-Ice and Mr. Mixx are also wearing identical tee-shirts that depicts an illustration of an American flag with the text [BANNED / IN THE / USA] printed in black in over the flag.

2015.132.64.1 and 2015.132.64.2 are printed on Kodak Professional Endura Paper; 2015.132.64.3 is printed on Kodak Royal Paper. On the back on 2015.132.64.1 is an inscription written by Bill Adler with the subject, date, and photographer's name. The other two prints have no inscriptions, front or back.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1990
• Photograph by: Janette Beckman, English, born 1950
• Subject of: 2 Live Crew, American, 1985 - 2014
• Subject of: Luther Roderick Campbell, American, born 1960
• Subject of: Mr. Mixx, American
• Subject of: Fresh Kid Ice, Trinidadian, born 1964
• Subject of: Brother Marquis, American
• Type: chromogenic color prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: dye and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (2015.132.64.1 Sheet): 11 × 14 in. (27.9 × 35.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (2015.132.64.1 Image): 9 5/8 × 12 in. (24.5 × 30.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (2015.132.64.2 Sheet): 11 × 14 in. (27.9 × 35.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (2015.132.64.2 Image): 9 5/8 × 12 in. (24.5 × 30.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (2015.132.64.3): 9 1/8 × 11 7/8 in. (23.2 × 30.2 cm)
• Place depicted: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Advertising
• Topic: Gesture
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Rappers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2015.132.64.1-.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Janette Beckman Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.