The song became a major hit for 2 Live Crew, topping the rap charts and going to No. 26 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in 1989. "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" reached No. 3 on the rap album charts and No. 29 on the album chart. The album eventually sold millions of copies. Because of the controversy, the song's title was never mentioned by Shadoe Stevens when he played the song on the radio show "American Top 40", though it did get mentioned on a Summer 1990 episode when the group's second top 40 hit, "Banned in the U.S.A." was on the chart.