Miami legends talk about hip-hop as it turns 50
MIAMI - Friday marked the 50th anniversary of hip-hop and we can't talk about it without mentioning Miami's impact on the music genre.
For decades, Miami has led the way in introducing southern rap to the scene.
Growing up in Miami depending on the decade there are certain songs, beats and lyrics that when you hear them you can't help but move.
The same goes for hip-hop.
CBS News Miami's Tania Francois sat down with Luther Campbell and Maurice Young, AKA Trick Daddy about their beginnings and their impact.
Miami's 80s, 90s and early 2000s music scene included 2 Live Crew and Uncle Luke. They were some of the most controversial musicians for their lyrics and videos.
Luther 'Uncle Luke' Campbell remembers those days. He says, "Everything the critics said that I was doing to the minds of young people and older people back then when I was fighting those fights and going to jail for the music. What it says to me is that you guys turned out alright."
Campbell is one of the pioneers of Miami rap and Southern hip-hop. He sees himself as an ambassador. "Some people may look at me as the champion of free speech, going to the supreme court. The only artist to have to go there for the sake of the music and for free speech."
The State of Florida considered 2 Live Crew's lyrics obscene. The group challenged their thinking winning a first amendment case in front of the Supreme Court in the early 1990s and released Banned in the USA. It's the first album ever to carry the Parental Advisory label.
Uncle Luke says, "I look at myself as more of an ambassador to hip-hop, record executive, artist, free speech champion. It's all over the place."
Maurice 'Trick Daddy' Young says his music was different on purpose. "My music was more of hardcore gangster rap, mixed with the blues, mixed with gospel 'cause I told them the truth and a lot of people don't like to hear the truth."
If Luke is the Uncle, Trick well he's the 'Daddy' who just loves the kids. His distinct sound has Miami written all over it. He tells his life story through his music. "It took for me to go to prison to realize that might be your way out. That's the only thing that you can do real good that makes sense."
Fifty years later the music goes on and it takes radio to do it. DJs like Shelby Rushin and Alex 'BigLip' Chisholm who host 'The Show' on WHQT's Hot105…. It's their job to keep hip-hop going. Rushin says for her, it's more than just work. "It's a lifestyle, a certain way that you dance, that you hear songs. It's a lifestyle something that you live so when you hear it you know exactly what to do."
Chisholm agrees. "I think rap is the music, hip-hop is the culture that what it means to me. It's a lifestyle."
Today Trick Daddy owns Sunday's restaurant in Miami Gardens. He's also working on new music with Miami Garden's Rick Ross and others.
Luther Campbell meanwhile is working on documentaries spotlighting the 90's spring break culture starting with Freaknik and Daytona's Black College Reunion and spring break in Galveston, Tx. He also coaches high school football at Miami Edison Senior High.
