We might not be living in the Star Wars galaxy, but it certainly feels like George Lucas owns this one, too. One rap artist would agree wholeheartedly, sans the usual applause for the creator of the billion dollar universe.
In 1990, one particular rap group became hugely popular, thanks in part to controversy that made the national news. Their name? 2 Live Crew.
Their lyrics were considered so sexually explicit that their music was deemed too “obscene” in an actual court of law. A Florida judge ruled that such obscenities were not protected by the First Amendment. It set off a firestorm of reactions across the country as the “free speech” debate became top news.
Police began visiting up to 20 different record stores in the Miami area — which is where 2 Live Crew are from, and where the ruling took place — warning them not to sell 2 Live Crew albums, and threatening those who do with arrest. Indeed, one store owner ignored the cops, and was later arrested.
2 Live Crew appealed the court ruling and won. The experience ultimately led to them recording another one of their biggest songs, “Banned in the U.S.A.,” which mimics Bruce Springsteen‘s “Born in the U.S.A.”
However, it wouldn’t be the last lawsuit they were involved in and, in fact, they were involved in quite a few but one was courtesy of Star Wars creator George Lucas.
Luke who?
Luther Campbell, the leader of the group, was nicknamed Luke — his mother even called him Luke. A couple years after Return of the Jedi was released, he adapted the name Luke Skywalker, which he later claimed was because of basketball player Kenny Walker, who was nicknamed “Sky.” Of course, Kenny “Sky” Walker had that nickname because of Star Wars, and because of his actual last name. Flying high when showing off his slam dunking prowess, it’s obvious why the name “Sky” Walker fit him perfectly.
But Luke Campbell was not named Walker, and for years his lawyers urged him to drop the name Luke Skywalker, because if the group ever became famous, then surely Lucasfilm would come knocking, especially considering the fact that the name “Luke Skywalker” was trademarked by Lucas. Additionally, Star Wars was a kid friendly movie trilogy and Luke Campbell was not exactly making kid friendly music. The songs were so graphic for the time that 2 Live Crew would often release an alternate “clean” version of their albums. It wasn’t exactly helpful that Campbell also named his record label Luke Skywalker Records.
Sure enough, 2 Live Crew became so popular that they were all over the news and were even parodied on SNL. Not surprisingly, George Lucas became aware of the artist named Luke Skywalker rapping songs like, “Me So Horny.” One can only be thankful that it wasn’t Mark Hamill belting out such songs, though it would be comical to witness.
So, Lucas had his lawyers send a warning to Campbell, asking him to drop the name. Campbell refused and instead added a “y” to make the spelling “Luke Skyywalker.”
Unsatisfied, Lucas sued Campbell for $300 million.
Did Lucas win the lawsuit?
Since he was being sued by George Lucas, Campbell finally decided to watch Star Wars, but after seeing it, he still didn’t think he was in the wrong. So, he welcomed the lawsuit and refused to settle.
That’s when something odd happened. Campbell and one of his bandmates Chris Wongwon — known as Fresh Kid Ice — were arrested for “violating state laws on obscenity.” Yes, they were actually arrested for being obscene because they performed their music at a club. Imagine if Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B performed “WAP” in 1990, they would be in jail for life.
Later that week, Campbell was on the Donahue show to discuss the ordeal. The absurdity of it all made Campbell realize that he was in a no-win situation so he reached a $300,000 settlement with George Lucas and also agreed to drop “Skywalker” from his name and his record company’s name.
What did Luke Campbell have to say?
Luke Campbell obviously wasn’t happy despite him seemingly being very clearly in the wrong. He said about the lawsuit, “My name is Luke Skywalker and I’m rapping about how I want some pussy. How can anyone say that is infringing on a character in a movie that doesn’t feature any rap music?”
Campbell looked back on it years later in an interview with Vulture and offered some pretty humorous quotes like the one above.
“Every time I see a trailer or an ad for that movie, all I can think is I want that motherfucker George Lucas to give me my money back.”
And he even added this little gem. “I like f***ing STAR TREK!”
In regards to his kids potentially wanting to see a Star Wars movie — during a time before streaming services — Campbell said, “I tell my kids, don’t ever buy bootleg. But! If you really want to watch Star Wars, you can buy it bootleg.”
Campbell even had a rather funny take on his company’s name and logo. “The logo for Luke Skyywalker Records was two legs in jeans walking on a cloud. If I wanted to rip off Star Wars don’t you think the logo would have had a lightsaber!”
The controversy surrounding 2 Live Crew at least helped them sell a lot of records, which they continued to do for years. In recent sad news regarding the group, early 2 Live Crew member Brother Marquis passed away in June 2024.
George Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney in 2012 and, needless to write, it’s highly unlikely that Disney will feature any Luke Skyywalker music anytime soon.