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AS NASTY AS HE WANTS TO BE
An Inside Look at Uncle Luke's Peep Show
by Malik Singleton

THE RATING GAME
The rating system for cable television's programming follows the same "G" to "NC-17" scale as film. Pay-per-view cable however, has virtually "no rules." Most new legislation regarding publicly accessible porn involves TV and internet restrictions to minors. Yet the following is the most recent measure amended by the FCC regarding the censorship of all commercial and public broadcast television and radio:

Part 73, Chapter 1 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Authority 47 USC 154, 303, 334, Section 73.3999: Enforcement of 18 USC 1464 (restrictions on the transmission of obscene and indecent material).

a) No license of a radio or television broadcast station shall broadcast any material which is obscene.
b) No license of a radio or television broadcast station shall broadcast any day between 6 am and 10pm any material which is indecent.

Indecent: Patently offensive descriptions of sexual or excretory activities or organs as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium.

Obscene: [not protected by First Amendment]: 1) what an average person, applying conemporary community standards, finds appealing to purient interest; 2) material that depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct, specifically defined by applicable law; 3) material, taken as a whole, lacking serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

The music stems directly from Bambaataa's breaks, Donna's disco and Africa's rhythm, making it one of the most danceable and certainly classic incarnations of hip-hop there is. But through the medium of video, Miami Bass has gained an even more distinct mystique of its own. Despite the irresistible bottom, bare-all brickhouses seen bouncing to the beat make the music more of a spectacle than just a sound, a relationship Luke — a freak turned business freak — was bold enough to capitalize on. Forget keeping it real or keeping it right, Luke's only concern is keeping it legal. Right or wrong, Luther Campbell has turned the law into his ally, saying not only is it his right to be as nasty as he wants to be, but his duty to benefit as Hefner, Flynt and Stern have.

Luke's Peep Show is his two-hour-long, "anything goes," Action-Pay-Per-View music video program specializing in full-length, uncensored videos that The Box, BET, MTV and VH-1 can't show. Like a traveling Freaknik, it has taped in exotic Cancun, Honolulu and of course, Miami. The likes of Heather Hunter, Too $hort, Adina Howard, Treach and Lil' Kim have appeared, in addition to dozens of anonymous fleshy femmes, all of whome augment the atmospheric raunch.

However, Luke's prime contention is that all activity follows enthusiastic consent. "Some people enjoy showing their bodies, some people don't," he says. "I ask everybody questions first. I'm like, 'we're getting naked, freaky, and that's what's going on. If you're down, you're down, if you're not, you're not.' What happens is when a muthafucka says, 'oh, we might show a little skin, just your tops out,' telling a muthafucka a bunch of lies, that's when you have problems. Not being straight up can get you in a lot of trouble."

Of course, Luke has a lot more than his share of morality's vigilantes to beware of, enough to make him the expert on any laws he's been arrested, sued or persecuted for in the past. His new task is to learn how the laws apply to television. The Safe Harbor Act, as proposed by Senator Ernest F. Hollings (D-SC), prohibits the airing of adult material during the daytime when children are the largest broadcast and cable audience. So the Peep Show airs during primetime. Most other new communications reforem legislation, passed or proposed, regards child pornography, internet indecency, and program rating systems, not pay-per-view cable. So staying legit will only require keeping underage groupies from participating, avoiding an "interactive" website and keeping the show's "NR" (no-rating) classification, as opposed to "X." The FCC regulates what it calls the obscenity and profanity for public access programming, but, according to FCC cable representative Morgan Broman, there are "not rules" for the pay-per-view circuit.

So while he seems like a silly boy on the screen, behind the scenes Luther Campbell is a smart businessman, if exploiting the First Amendment's loopholes can be considered smart. At any rate, the show is the fifth most grossing Action-Pay-Per-View program, and as quiet as it is kept, "the number one market is Utah," says Campbell. Whether it is simply a vessel for underexposed artists, or incentive for more to go the vulgar route remains to be seen. But in the meantime, Luke has plans for a late-night regular broadcast television talk show, that will no doubt test, if not change the limits for regular TV. So, right or wrong, thanks to Constitutional civil liberties, Luke's lucrative career will be much like his pastime, since, as he puts it, "sex is one thing that ain't going nowhere."

RAP SHEET
Uncle Luke is no stranger when it comes to dealings with the law. Here's a look back at some of the nasty man's most controversial run-ins with America's finest:

1990 - Luke Skyywalker and the 2 Live Crew's third album, As Nasty As they Wanna Be (1989), made subject of a state-wide obscenity prosecution campaign, spearheaded by born-again Christian lawyer Jack Thompson.
1990 - Luke Skyywalker and the 2 Live Crew condemned by then-Governor Bob Martinez.
1990 - Luke Skyywalker and the 2 Live Crew condemned by the NAACP.
1990 - Luke and the 2 Live Crew arrested, tried, then acquitted for obscene performance in Hollywood, Florida.
1991 - Luke and the 2 Live Crew arrested by Broward County Sheriff Nick Navaro.
1991 - Luke Skyywalker and the 2 Live Crew tried and convicted for obscenity in Broward County court, then finally acquitted in US Appeals court.
1994 - Luke and the 2 Live Crew sued in US Supreme Court for devaluating copyright of "Oh, Pretty Woman" in parody. Court rules against alleged plagiarism.