Uncle Luke 'Not Happy About' Direction Of Miami Hip-Hop Scene

Over the last few years the Miami rap scene has once again become a thriving movement thanks to the chart success of the varied likes of Flo-Rida, Trina, DJ Khaled, Rick Ross and Pitbull. That shift in power to the Magic City has not been lost on Luther “Luke” Campbell, the legendary music mogul, bass music pioneer and former leader of the iconic 2 Live Crew, largely viewed as the godfather of Miami hip hop. From Trick Daddy to the aforementioned Pitbull, Uncle Luke has ignited the careers of a who’s who of Sunshine State rap stars. But even though he is proud of the impact his hometown is having on the hip-hop culture at large, Luke believes that some of his peers are letting that success go to their heads.

“I always had this one idea of doing an all Miami song,” says Luke, who was recently celebrated at the 2010 Hip Hop Honors. “The original guys from Miami—not the transplants. I’m getting the urge to do something because I see Miami going in a different direction, something I’m not really happy about. It’s become too Hollywood. I don’t see a lot of guys in Miami bringing up other guys. Everybody is so quick to grab everybody from out of town and put these guys on record. I don’t really like that. When I appeared in DJ Khaled’s 'All I Do Is Win' video, I was doing it to support Khaled. So a lot of these guys need to think about bringing up some of these other talented kids that are in Miami.”

Luke, who is working on an upcoming album that is set to drop early next year, says it’s important to display a unified front. As usual, he said his album will feature up-and-coming talent. “That’s one of the main reasons why I’m getting back into the music business,” Luke explains. “These are my kids. I love the fact that Pitbull is doing his thing. I was pretty much the one that discovered him as well as Trick Daddy. I love what Rick Ross is doing. Guys like Flo-Rida that are from Miami, I’m just happy to see them find success. Back in the days people would say Miami music and music from the South period would never happen. It makes me feel good to see that success. But we have to show more unity.” —Keith Murphy