| Above the Law | |
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Origin |
Pomona, California, U.S. |
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Genres |
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Years active |
1989-2012 |
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Label |
Ruthless Records (1989-1996) |
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Associated acts |
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Past members |
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Above the Law was an American hip hop group from Pomona, California. The group was formed in late 1989 by Cold 187um, KMG, Go Mack and DJ K-oss, and signed to Eazy-E's Ruthless Records label that same year. Mixing 1970s funk and soul samples with live instrumentation, the group are amongst the pioneers of G-funk music.
They released their debut album, Livin' Like Hustlers, in 1990 on Ruthless Records, which featured production work from Dr. Dre. The album shares a similar G-funk sound to Dr. Dre's 1992 pioneering album The Chronic. Cold 187um has claimed that he was the first to pioneer the G-funk style and that Dr. Dre's sound was largely inspired by the sound on that album. The album Black Mafia Life peaked at #34 om billboard 200 charts selling over a million copies in the United States.
After the death of Eazy-E in 1995, Above the Law left Ruthless to sign to Tommy Boy in 1996. Their fourth album, Time Will Reveal, was released through Tommy Boy in 1996, with the group still sticking to their gangsta-based lyrics and G-funk sound.
On 7 July 2012, founding member KMG died due to an apparent heart attack. According to Kokane, a new Above the Law album had been recorded before the death of KMG, but no release date has been set. The group disbanded soon after.
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
- 1990: Livin' Like Hustlers
- 1993: Black Mafia Life (Platinum) by the RIAA
- 1994: Uncle Sam's Curse
- 1996: Time Will Reveal
- 1998: Legends
- 1999: Forever: Rich Thugs, Book One
- 2009: Sex, Money & Music
Extended plays[]
- 1991: Vocally Pimpin'