Raunch-rap pioneer Luther “Luke” Campbell of 2 Live Crew, and also the subject of a new reality show on VH1 called Luke’s Parental Advisory, was in town last weekend to marry Kristin Thompson, a 27-year-old native of DeSoto. Thompson holds a law degree, works for LEG as general counsel and is studying for the bar exam.
The show, which premieres Monday, August 4, will chronicle Campbell’s life as he takes care of business at his porn empire, Luke Entertainment Group, while also trying to be a good father and soon-to-be husband.
As promised earlier on Unfair Park, here's how our conversation with Campbell about reality TV and marriages went down...
Are you doing any appearances while you’re in town? No, I’m at the license place right now to get my marriage license, and then I’m gonna go to Pappadeux and eat. As you know, they don’t have Pappadeux in Miami. Then I’m going to relax some and go out tonight. We’re shooting our reality show here, so it’ll probably be a long schedule.
What made you want to have your own show? Everybody always said I should .… (rustling noises followed by a few seconds of silence) I’m sorry, I’m on a roller coaster right now with no wheels on it…. It’s like, long before the show, people told me I should do a show because my life is like a walking reality show. I’m doing shows and music and then going back into the office and changing a whole hat. I’ve got three different hats: family man, a business man and the entertainer. People were always interested in how I run my house and raise my kids, knowing the type of music that I do.
That’s one of the themes, at least judging from the screener that VH1 sent. One of the funniest scenes was when your fiancée found an adult video under Luther Junior’s bed. How do you decide what’s appropriate for your kids, considering that’s your business? It’s like anything. What’s for kids is for kids and what’s for adults is for adults. I always, being the individual that invented the Parental Advisory sticker for music, I always wanted to keep that music out of the hands of kids. At the same time, what I do is for adults. It’s easy. My mama always said there’s a time and place for everything, and what’s grown folks’ business is grown folks’ business.
The show seems mostly focused on your family and your adult entertainment business, and you’ve said that your latest album would be your last. Are you still involved in the music business? You’ll see later in the show: I’m the first to take a hip-hop company public. It’s like a restart of Luke Records, so that’s the good part about it. People will get to see how I start it back up. The last two guys I’ve discovered, among others, were Pitbull and Trick Daddy. It’s good that people will get to see me start the new company. You’ll be able to see every week whether the company succeeds or fails.
Do you get a lot of editorial control over what goes on the show? We work closely together. They keep me informed as to some of the topics. One thing about our show is...you see a lot of reality shows today and they seem scripted. We wanted to make sure we wasn’t going down the scripted line. They studied us, got to know the individuals and basically turned the cameras on. If there’s something going on that’s interesting, we expand on it. I used to look at The Osbournes. I loved that show. I think [openness] is important to what we do. I’m not gonna say nothing about anybody else’s show.
Are you worried that people are going to compare it to Snoop’s show, Father Hood? Are you doing anything to distinguish it from Snoop’s show? I mean, one, we have the best company that does reality shows doing our shows in Pink Sneakers [Productions]. And our show is reality. When I look at his show, it looks like it’s scripted. I won’t be taking my son that loves basketball out to play soccer with David Beckham. That ain’t happening. I’m getting married for the first time, and I’m not going to get remarried for the show. That’s the difference. Our show is real. When I tell my kids about their little brother, that’s real. I went upstairs and thought about how I was going to say it, and then came downstairs and said it.
What part of Dallas is your fiancée from? She’s from… (to Kristin) What part of Dallas are you from? … She’s from DeSoto.
How did you meet? We met in Miami. Hold on… (sound of car door chime). We’re at the license place. Y’all got these cowboy laws around here, where you have to only get … What? The license 72 hours before the wedding? (unintelligible)
Are you going to do any talent scouting while you’re in town? Dallas is pretty known for its… No, it’s all wedding. All wedding. --Jesse Hughey
