The New York Times caught up with former 2 Live Crew frontman Luther Campbell, who now coaches defense for a high school football team in the same Miami neighborhood in which he grew up. Among the revelations: Campbell might have five children with five different women, but he's now married to a lawyer and raising a three-year-old. He golfs frequently to relieve stress. There are no more yachts, no more late-night boozefests, no more groupies.
Campbell is 51. He still owns his own record label and has plans to start his own line of rum. But his players—who weren't born when As Nasty As They Wanna Be was declared obscene by a federal judge—are only somewhat aware of his libidinous past. They mainly know the man who gave the world songs like "We Want Some Pussy" and "The Fuck Shop" as a disciplinarian won't tolerate any curse words.
Here's Uncle Luke talking about the old days on his yacht, Scandalous:
They took Scandalous to the Columbus Day regatta most years, the party to end all parties, an event the writer Tom Wolfe recently called the "most hedonistic" he ever witnessed.
Campbell drained a 20-foot putt from the fringe. "You'd put on a life vest, jump in the water and go from boat to boat," he said. "People having all sorts of wild sex. All these lawyers and politicians and executives. That's when I knew white people were crazy!"
These were the same people, Campbell said, who tried to put him in jail. Yet there they were, "out here with a big freakfest!"
The Times details the difficulties Campbell endured to get certified to coach. He dishes on his former bounty program for football players at the University of Miami (Fla.) and even takes a shot at the NCAA. But while college coaches often tell him they used to party to his music and ask for his autograph, this is pretty much what life is like these days for the former Luke Skyywalker:
This year, Campbell attended the BET Music Awards, after a rapper named French Montana sampled Campbell in his new hit "Pop That." Campbell's players made fun of his outfit and the way he danced. It was as if they had been embarrassed by their father. That is how they see him now, less of a celebrity, more of an old ball coach.
The Campbell they know, he is serious.
Campbell's wife, Kristin, perhaps best summed up his current lifestyle:
Early in their relationship, Kristin went on the road with Campbell. She saw the dancers, the nudity, the shows. And yet, she sensed that Campbell, underneath this Uncle Luke persona, really wanted to be a family man. Imagine that. The "Me So Horny" guy a family man.
[...]
"It's all really funny to me," she added. "I saw a guy that had a lifestyle that a lot of men want to have and try to emulate. And knowing that, and knowing that we go home and watch ‘The Devil Wears Prada,' it's just, it's different."
Is it ever. Sheesh. Who knew Luther Campbell would turn out to be as much fun as Andy Reid?
Former Hip-Hop Artist's Defense Never Rests [New York Times]