Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Used to Hate This, But It Kinda Grows On You!!!, March 9, 2005
OK, so I'll admit, these guys aren't really the greatest rappers. Their flow varies from unexceptional to pretty good, one guy has a very strange voice (sorry, I don't know his name) and he really doesn't sound very well suited to rap at all, and the album suffers from decidedly uh...limited subject matter. But none of it makes any difference at all, because this is still one of the most catchy, fun, playful, musically inventive, and booty-shakin' rap albums ever to come down the pike. It's no wonder that these guys were so huge in their time, and favorite targets of self-righteous evangelists and law enforcers. Anything this fun HAS to be illegal, and in Florida, until 1992, it actually was!!!
I snatched up this album just a few weeks ago, and when I first played it, I really didn't care for it at all. Certain songs were catchy (like the LEGENDARY "Me So Horny"), but it just wasn't what I was used to. The lyrics were decidedly juvenile, and as a fan of eloquent hip-hoppers like De La Soul, Public Enemy, and A Tribe Called Quest, it was a real shock to hear such earthy, nasty humor on a rap album (I was aware of their notorious rep before I bought the CD but, dang!!!). Still, I owed it to the group who set new precedents for legal sleaze on hit records to give 'em another shot, so I listened again...and again...and again...
And all at once, I realized that the Crew had grown on me. Their infectiously funky, bass-driven Miami sound is all the musical evidence that one needs to re-examine this group. Instrumentally, they don't quite sound like anybody else, especially on super fast-paced party cuts like "C'mon Babe" (my favorite song on the entire album, and a REALLY wild club track!). The hype about the lyrics really is true. They're about as lewd and lascivious as any that you'll likely find in the annals of recorded history. This is one album that I'm NOT lending my twelve-year-old kid sister!!!
In conclusion, if you're somebody who's got a lot of hang-ups about sex, misogyny, or other sordid topics, you may want to steer clear of this one. BUT, if you've got an open mind that doesn't take itself too seriously, a playful sense of humor that you can lower to sixth-grade sensibilities at will, and a (...) to shake, you should really dig this album. And if your first listen angers you, confuses you, or just plain stupifies you, don't be afraid to give it another listen. It can be a lot to soak in, but it's worth it!!!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Its Filthy, Dirty, and pornographic..I love it, February 10, 2006
The 2 live Crew decided to release "As Nasty as they wanna be" at the absolute wrong time. Congress was already making a list (Tipper Gore...ughh)of albums that they wanted to be banned, which was a total violation of 1st Ammendment rights. Needless to say, this album got released at the height of that period, and most large record retailers banned sales of the album. After lots of hearings from Musicans (even John Denver stepped in and thought is was wrong to censor music) the album was finally avaiable for sale (sticked with the infamous Parental Advisory) and I picked it up to see what all the fuss was about. Even though it might be somewhat tame by todays standards, it was dirty, yet it was good, not just because it was dirty. The 2Live Crew showed some skills, and some of the beats on this album were fantasic (had that Miami based BOOM) Time wouldnt be good to the Crew, as the the releaes got worse, and they stuck with an overuse of pornographic material that just got tired. Yet this is a really good album, which has been a bit tarnished by time, yet still another solid hip-hop effort.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Even for rap this is bad, September 29, 2005
...so bad that it's hilarious, that is. Whoever created the actual music on this album did an okay job and has good taste; sampling more talented artists and performers such as Van Halen, Guns N' Roses, Jimi Hendrix, Beastie Boys, etc. The beats are somewhat "old" sounding; which is excuseable because this album was made in the late 80s/early 90s.
Before almost every song there's clips from movies that I think are some of the funniest parts of the album: the Vietnamese prostitute's "Oh, me so horny" from Full Metal Jacket, Richard Pryor proclaiming that "I ain't bullsh...in'!", a crowd of irate old men demanding that they abandon rap and "sing the blues!", and of course: "I know a place just down there two streets. Baby, they'll ask you no questions and give you clean sheets. HahaHAHA!"
Most of the lyrics are grotesquely pornographic and were juvenile even when we listened to this in sixth grade, yet they are hilarious at the same time. The cheesyness of the beats combined with the profanity, crudity, and retardedness of the lyrics and the way they are "rapped" by mostly talentless people who can't sing and can't even really rap makes the songs way funnier than they ought to be.
The only reason that "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" wasn't completely regulated to obscurity and forgotten was that a court in Florida declared it to be "obscene" (which I suppose it is) which inadvertantly drew everyone's attention to it. In any case, it's great comedy. It still makes me laugh. 2 stars for music, 5 for comedy.
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by The 2 Live Crew 
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