Luke

Unhappy with the lack of respect the hip-hop community has given him, Luther Campbell decided 2006 was the year he'd stop being a recording artist and move on to his true calling, porno magazines and XXX films. Saying goodbye with the three-disc My Life & Freaky Times won't earn him any more respect, since the audio book portion of the collection -- two discs out of the three -- spends a lot of time gossiping, often sounding like a sloppier version of Karrine Steffans' tell-all book -Confessions of a Video Vixen. Course, My Life & Freaky Times comes from the other side of the casting couch and Luke isn't a so much a victim as he is a carnival huckster with a shocking product that got less and less shocking as hip-hop got harder. When Uncle Luke stops whining about his place in hip-hop history and focuses on his two real loves -- sports and sex -- the audio book portion of the set is actually fun and often funny. The music CD contains some new material and some old, but numerous lawsuits have made sure that none of the classic 2 Live Crew material is included, at least not in the versions everyone is familiar with. Instead there's a trying reggaeton remix of "Pop That Pussy," some leftovers and unreleased numbers, and new tracks with Trick Daddy, Pitbull, and Petey Pablo. While nothing here is necessary for hip-hop heads, anyone fascinated by sleazy characters that live on the fringe will find the audio book portion of the set entertaining. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide