25 Years Ago in the Nineties: 2 Live Crew “Banned In the U.S.A.”

In 1990 Miami-based group 2 Live Crew recorded the song “Banned In The U.S.A.” about the court case that year that ruled that their album As Nasty As They Want To Be was legally obscene — a ruling that was later overturned. Sampling Bruce Springsteen’s” “Born In The U.S.A.,” the song became 2 Live Crew’s only Top 20 hit and the second of the group’s two Top 40 hits, following the controversial “Me So Horny” from 1989. Exactly 25 years ago, “Banned In The U.S.A.” was in the midst of its two-week run at a peak position of number 20.