The Albums and Labels Behind the Designs

Most of our designs come straight from our records and our label. Here's the story behind them.

The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are (1986)

Our debut album, and it went gold. The Is What We Are design uses the cover photo: the group posing around a car under the title in red script. The same record is behind the hand-lettered design with the Luke Records logo, named after one of its tracks.

As Nasty As They Wanna Be (1989)

This is the album that made us national news. It went double platinum, and its single "Me So Horny" reached No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. In June 1990 a federal judge ruled the album obscene; an appeals court reversed that in 1992. The As Nasty As They Wanna Be design carries the original cover.

Banned in the U.S.A. (1990)

Our answer to the court case. The title track borrows from Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A.", used with his permission, and the album was the first release to carry the standard Parental Advisory sticker. It's the biggest family in the shop, with four designs.

Skyywalker Records and Luke Records

Luther Campbell and the group started our own label, Luke Skyywalker Records. George Lucas sued over the name, so it became Luke Records. The Skyywalker Records design puts the old logo on the back, and Banned in the USA Luke Records carries the red Luke Records logo on the back.

And the rest of the shop

Next to the album designs you'll find bold type like Black Strong, in a clean and a graffiti version, and the stars-and-stripes Take It Off logo.

Find your album: browse the collection