From Banned To The Ballot: Uncle Luke Launches Congressional Bid For South Florida Seat

Uncle Luke has a controversial legacy in the area regarding his 2 Live Crew album, "As Nasty As They Wanna Be."

Uncle Luke is going from Hip Hop to politics, with the retired rapper announcing the “perfect timing” to run for Congress this midterm election season.

The Miami-based rapper, whose real name is Luther Campbell, wants to head back to Broward County to represent his community. In an interview with “This Week In South Florida,” he shared his political ambitions to hold a seat in Florida’s 20th congressional district. The district covers most of Broward, with parts of Fort Lauderdale.

Uncle Luke dived into his desire to hold office, sharing that he set a deadline to decide whether he wanted to take on the role fully. The Neighborhood Talk shared a clip of the conversation with the show’s host, Glenna Milberg.

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“It’s the perfect timing…I was thinking about doing it the last cycle, but it wasn’t the right time,” shared the former leader of 2 Live Crew.

“I needed to do a lot of things, you know, to get myself prepared. I need[ed] to do more outreach to the community.”

The South Florida native had become a controversial voice in his community, remaining politically involved and outspoken throughout his music career. This is also not the rapper’s first attempt at holding office, having previously put his hat in the race for mayor of Miami-Dade County in 2011.

While acknowledging his attempts to run for Congress in the last election cycle, Luke then explained that he met with community shareholders to get a proper go this time around.

“I just go meet with the stakeholders, not necessarily politicians/, at the end of the day, once I did my due diligence, you know, I said, let me come to Glenna’s show and let her know I’m gonna run for Congress.”

Before his venture directly into politics, Uncle Luke had also been political through his raps. An advocate for free speech, his 1989 album with 2 Live Crew, “As Nasty As They Wanna Be,” became politically infamous after a U.S. court ruled it legally obscene due to its explicit lyrics and cover art.

Prosecution of members of the rap group also led to supporters calling out the racism surrounding their legal battles. Now, Uncle Luke wants a return to the political arena. He has also not shied away from endorsements in the past.

He advocated for Kamala Harris during the 2024 general election, signaling his Democratic-leaning stance in government.