In the wake of the death of Janet Reno, the US’s first female attorney general, one tribute stood out from the rest.
Former 2 Live Crew member Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell penned some kind words to honor Reno, who died Monday morning following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. She was 78.
Campbell — whose career has encompassed everything from record label mogul to adult entertainment purveyor and aspiring politician (he ran for may of Miami-Dade County in 2011) — posted the tribute on his site.
“[Reno] meant so much to the African American community,” Campbell wrote. “She always stood up for us when no else would.”
His rap group was at the center of an obscenity trial in the 1990s over the lyrics on their “As Nasty as They Wanna Be” album.
In his tribute Campbell noted that “At the height of my fame, Reno was the only state prosecutor who didn’t come after 2 Live Crew for singing explicit lyrics when every law enforcement official in the state wanted to throw our a**es in jail.”
“In fact, she defended our first amendment right to be as nasty as we wanted to be,” he wrote. “When I formed the Liberty City Optimist Club, Reno was the first person to make a donation to the youth program.”
Campbell, who in 1989 wrote and produced the song “Janet Reno” about her zero tolerance for fathers who did not pay child support, said Reno was beloved in the Miami black community for being their champion.
“As Miami-Dade County State Attorney and the first woman U.S. Attorney General, Reno handled her high profile jobs with professionalism,”Campbell wrote. “She never allowed politics to dictate her decisions. Reno was a true Florida icon.”