Ggriff was kicked out of the band, but the band soon released their song "Welcome to the Terrordome" and sang "apologies made to whoever pleases, still they got me like Jesus". Most recently, sampling disputes have produced an interesting twist to attack rap music. The sudden interest in sampling and copyright laws (e.g. Houle 1992) happens to be focused on rap, a musical style which is largely dependent on sampling techniques. A case was brought to the Supreme Court by Luther Campbell, lead-singer of the 2 Live Crew, concerning the 2 Live Crews version of "Oh, Pretty Woman" (Roy Orbison) which the band released on their sanitized "As Clean As They Wanna Be". There was, then, the distinct possibility that while the "Nasty" album was not legally obscene, at least the "Clean" recording would be ruled illegal (Denver Post, November 8, 1993). On March 7, 1994, however, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of 2 Live Crews rights to creative freedom (Denver Post, March 8, 1994) . Finally, violence continues to inspire most of the rap attacks (see Cox 1992). Denise Barnes, host of the TV rap show "Pump It Up", recently filed suit against McRen, member of the rap band N.W.A., because on an MTV show he had said that he hoped they will beat her up again (Dr. Dre of the same band had beaten her up at a party January 1991). However, because McRen had made his statement on TV, and not to a crowd, judge Valerie Barker threw out all charges (see article by defense attorney Peter Casthy 1992). Concluding Comments I have in this paper mainly presented an historical account of the legal puzzles posed by the censorship of popular music in the USA since 1985. I have sought to substantiate the not uncommon claim that law is more than the words and writings of lawyers and judges, more than what occupies the mind of legal professionals. From a systems-theoretical perspective (whether functionalist or more critically oriented) this approach is well-founded. A...
