Uncle Luke Recalls Fighting New York Rappers Over Southern Rap Hate

Uncle Luke has something to say about Southern rap music.

The 2 Live Crew frontman celebrated 40 years of Miami hip-hop by giving fans a history lesson on his Instagram account about the group’s early struggles to be taken seriously by fellow rappers from New York, specifically Run-D.M.C., Salt-N-Pepa, Kid ‘N Play, Eric B. & Rakim and Redman.

He recalled a time when they were on the road and got into it with various rap crews as they tried to perform their sets. “You know how many fights I had to have,” he asked rhetorically. “We was in Biloxi, Miss., got into a fisticuffs with Run-D.M.C. on stage because we was them n—as from Miami and we were ‘Bama. Getting ready to get into a fisticuff with who? With Redman. Go listen to that record. Everybody had disrespect for us. We weren’t supposed to be in hip-hop.”

Luke then brought up the group’s beef with Salt-N-Pepa and Kid ‘N Play over their remarks on an episode of BET’s Video Soul hosted by Donnie Simpson that the music 2 Live Crew was making wasn’t hip-hop.

“Salt-N-Pepa and Kid ‘N Play all them, which — I love them to death, we friends right now today — but they got on BET and said, ‘That s—t they doing in Miami is not hip-hop.’ When I saw them, I had to have a conversation with them,” he said.

In 1990, 2 Live Crew addressed those comments on the interlude “I Ain’t Bullsh—ttin’ Part 2” off their controversial album Banned in the U.S.A., on which they hurl homophobic insults for about six minutes.

He then brought up Redman again and elaborated on the New Jersey rapper’s song “I’m a Bad,” on which he has a skit in the middle mocking 2 Live crew. “What Redman and them do on they record,” he asked again rhetorically. “They did a whole skit. Go listen to the record. They were making fun of our slang.”

He also said Eric B. & Rakim tried to cut 2 Live Crew’s set from five minutes to three minutes once when they were in Memphis.