Customer Reviews

As Nasty As They Wanna Be

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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!!!

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.

I do not understand the reason some people have a grudge against 2-live. I mean think about it all they used were some profanity and some colorful words to boost there image. rapers today do the same thing if you really set and listen to som of the rap music today the talk about killing and doing the same thing 2-live did. so why all the hype.I really like them and do not see any problem with there music.

These guys were vulgar to be sure but their music had surprising soul and humor and was more fun than a lot of rap music of today! Not recommended for children though! DEFINITELY AN ADULTS ONLY PARTY!

One, I have a sense of humor even about sex and toilet humor. Certainly, the content is rated R basically, but if you're an adult who can't appreciate a little base humor, I feel bad for ya.
Two, I didn't like it on first listen, but after a while, the clever use of samples of other famous songs to build the groove, and funny/catchy lyrics grew on me. To this day I find myself singing "My Seven Bizzos" in the shower sometimes, lol. "On Thursday there's Trina, her perfume lingers, she likes to suck my dizzle, my tizzle and my fingers..." Other catchy songs I got to liking are "The F*** Shop", "D*** Almighty", and "Put her in the Buck". Yup, they're dirty. Yup, they're fun. Loosen up a bit, folks.

And just recently I realized that "D*** Almighty" samples... Kraftwerk. This is because I only recently felt motivated to fill in that missing part of my junior high techno experience. That's right, among all the sampling, this is a rap CD that samples... old German techno. This would be like 50 Cent sampling the Prodigy in 2005...

I say check it out, at least the tracks I mentioned.

I just needed this one song from this CD.
The lyrics to almost all of the songs on this CD are degrading to women in general.
I cannot see anyone other then a guy wanting this CD.
PS- my girl friend does not know I own this CD

It's been 16 years since this great double lp came out. Funny how it took it a year to make congess go crazy over nothing. Before the right winger's got rilled up over this the album had yet to hit gold. Shortly after that it went national that Boward County tried to ban this and failed so, on to the supreme court...it went overnight multi platinum cause everyone wanted to know what the fuss was.....So, it finally got out of Miami Clubs and NYC clubs and everyone knew what it was from 4 year olds to 84 year olds....Lesson here if those few idiots didn't make a fuss this lp would be a lost record.... Yet, anyways this was a good album. Fun pure and simple. The 2 Live Crew brought that heavy Miami Bass that in the mid ninties would become huge for awhile. What makes this album stand out besides heavy bass is some of the best scratching ever. Plus, these guys sampled some of the best songs ever.... Son of a preacher man, van halen guitar solos (the first van halen lp the only good one) jimi hendrix, a little of Eric B and Beastie boys be dropped in get loose now and just so, many others to mention. Yet, unlike modern rap where it's lets find the most obscure crap and then loop loop loop. They added fresh mixing and scracthing and their own heavy bass lines. Theres so much that can be said on this album the crew was at a changing point when this came out.... Some songs were drifting away from the goofyness they were know for but, others kept that old flaver there. After this the hype and controversy more or less destroyed these guys yet, they got their money and moved on. While Luke blew his chunk and went on to prove to the world he wasn't the true creative force behind this lp with his crappy solo albums. Most of them contained songs from this very lp to make up for the non talent dumped into them. He's been more succesful with his cheap porn films the first to blaze this before other hip hop artist. Me so horny may be the gold single on this album but, i'd have to say the best song on this was Get the F--k Out of My House..... You cant beat these lyrics.... You come into my house you eat all my s--t the dog should of bit you but it didn't get the f--k out of my house b--ch. And If you believe in Having sex always had a catchy chant... Well, regardless of what one may think of the lyrics pick this up for a lesson on some epic mixing and sampling and how heavy bass should be done without destroying the song..... Oh and for those who didn't know the famous quote from me so horny be from Full Metal Jacket ;)

As Nasty as They Wanna be is the greatest hip hop record in my opinion. If if was not for this record in 1989 ( I was like 12 years old), I would have not truly become to love hip hop. I would recommend this record to any newbe in the hip hop world... you must appreciate the old stuff as well as bumb the new school. Peace.

...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.

In '89, Broward County just didn't get it--fortunately, the courts did, and the 2 Live lawsuit got laughed out of court. It's listed as a rap record, but you could easily find it in the comedy section if you looked hard enough.

This isn't offensive--but what it is is some of the best rhymes, and best scratching this side of Eric B. & Rakim since... well, it still holds up. I was bumpin' "Me So Horny" the other night, and everybody got their freak flag out. When a 14 year old rap song still works after all this time, that says more than I ever could.

The follow-up "Banned In The U.S.A." isn't nearly as good, but it's better than the edited version of "Nasty...".