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Above the Law
Above the Law

Origin

Pomona, California, U.S.

Genres

Hip hop

Years active

1989-2012

Label

Ruthless Records (1989-1996)
Epic Records (1989-1991)
Giant Records (1991-1993)
Relativity Records (1994-1995)
Tommy Boy Records (1996-1998)
Street Solid Records (1998-1999)
Death Row Records (1999-2002)
West World Records (2002)

Associated acts

Kokane, Laylaw

Past members

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[]

Extended plays[]

  • 1991: Vocally Pimpin'
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