Old-school rappers still a 'lively crew' By Kevin Polowy State Press Magazine photo courtesy Lil' Joe Records Fresh Kid Ice and Brother Marquis, the legendary rap act 2 Live Crew, is looking forward to taking you back to the old school and educating you on the new.   Cancel those dinner reservations you made for Valentine's Day. There's a certain crew coming to town that requests your presence-- that is, if you are, or are seeking a hoochie mama-- "hoodrat, hoodrat, hoochie mama!" That's right, the 2 Live Crew is invading Cajun House February 14 with dirty nursery rhymes in full effect. Now composed of Fresh Kid Ice and Brother Marquis, the legendary rap act is looking forward to taking you back to the old school and educating you on the new. "We do a lot of the old stuff in our shows," said Fresh Kid Ice, aka Chris Wong Won, fresh off a European tour. "And we do some new material to introduce the crowd back to 2 Live. It's energy-filled. We try to give the people what they want to hear. We can't just dwell on the new stuff so we mix it up. Notoriously known for being "First Amendment Poster Boys," the 2 Live Crew has survived numerous legal battles and shifting group members in its 15-year career. Fresh Kid Ice, Mr. Mixx and Amazing V recorded the first 2 Live single, "Revelation," in 1985. Shortly after, Amazing V left the group and Brother Marquis and Luke, 2 Live's manager/promoter at the time joined on to release their first album, Is What We Are. In 1989, following the release of 2 Live's third album, As Nasty As They Wanna Be (which included the singles "Me So Horny" and "C'mon Babe"), the group became a main target of attacks from right wing groups such as the Parent's Music Resource Center, which claimed the group's material was obscene. That album featured songs like "Put Her in the Buck" and "The Fuck Shop," tracks that critics called "obsessively animalistic."   2 live crew and special guest twenty-two appearing at cajun house valentine's day 8 p.m. But in June, 1990, a Florida state court ruled As Nasty As They Wanna Be legally obscene, a declaration that would interminably pair 2 Live with Larry Flynt as America's free-speech trailblazers. Soon after, group members began pursuing solo careers and 2 Live embodied different combinations of rappers. The last time the group worked with Luke was in 1995 shortly after he refitted the Bruce Springstein's classic into "Banned in the U.S.A." Fresh Kid Ice recalled, "It was a business thing. We were trying to put everything back together but it didn't work out. "But hopefully later this year we'll do a reunion album so that's what we'll be working on. But that's in the hands of the lord right now." Fresh Kid reunited with Brother Marquis in 1998 to release The Real One, an album that restored 2 Live's up-tempo Miami bass sound. Though the songs still contain explicit lyrics such as on songs like "Freak Ho," "Playa Hata," and "Bottle and a Blunt," Fresh Kid said the group has not been bothered lately about their music. "It's not so much the lyrics, but sometimes we get a little bit of hassle about our performances," he said. "So what we do is we'll try to tone it down according to what the building wants." The rapper also noted that not all of 2 Live's songs are sexual. "It all depends on the song and the hook," he said. "With certain songs it just goes that way. Then other songs is like party songs that we make for clubs." Over the years, the 2 Live Crew have garnered a double platinum album, two platinum albums, two gold albums, three chart-topping singles and sales of over 12 million units. Fresh Kid said that through all these years, 2 Live has maintained a style and identity that only they can claim. "We take our style, the 2 Live style, you know with the explicit lyrics and sexual content, and we try to update with the music," he said. "But at the same time we stay true to our roots." home- music notes too