The First G-Funk Album* | Above the Law - Black Mafia Life (1993)

A follow-up album was due from Above the Law a year after their critically acclaimed 1990 debut album, LIVIN’ LIKE HUSTLERS. Instead, they were stalled by the protracted Ruthless Records exit of their mentor, Dr. Dre, a contractual breach, and a search for a new distributor. The new style that ATL was working on would have to wait for almost three years to introduce it to the world. By the time 1993’s BLACK MAFIA LIFE arrived, it became an uphill battle to reroute the course of rap music history from a former mentor with a groundbreaking album reportedly laden with group leader Cold 187um’s invention, despite delivering an outstanding album of its own right.

#abovethelaw #blackmafialife #drdre #ruthlessrecords #deathrowrecords #thechronic #gfunk

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro: Ruthless Records, the Family That Sometimes Wasn't
03:05 A History of the Funk
04:41 Parliament-Funkadelic Wants to Really Get Funked Up
05:55 The G-Funk Race
12:23 BLACK MAFIA LIFE Review
23:16 Struggling in the Shadows of Death Row
27:24 Outro: An Overdue Reevaluation

ABOVE THE LAW SERIES:
Livin' Like Hustlers (1990)    • The Unfortunate Understudy | Above the Law...  
Vocally Pimpin' (1991)    • A Taste of the G-Funk Mega Players | Above...  
Black Mafia Life (1993)    • The First G-Funk Album* | Above the Law - ...  
Uncle Sam's Curse (1994)    • Black Supermen | Above the Law - Uncle Sam...  
Time Will Reveal (1996)    • Just Rollin' on a Hundred Spokes | Above t...  

SELECTED REFERENCES:
Adeniji, Ade. “The Full Story Behind the Forgotten First Song of G Funk.” Okayplayer. February 22, 2023.
https://www.okayplayer.com/originals/...
BigBoyTV. “The Untold Stories of Snoop Dogg | Death Row, Dr. Dre, and Last Moments w/Tupac | Big Boy Off Air.” YouTube. April 11, 2023.
   • The Untold Stories of Snoop Dogg | Death R...  
Paine, Jake. “Cold 187um Claims Dr. Dre Jacked His G-Funk & Names Songs to Prove It (Audio).” Ambrosia for Heads. July 12, 2017.
https://ambrosiaforheads.com/2017/07/...
Setaro, Shawn. “Dr. Dre Perfected G-Funk, But He Didn’t Invent It—Gregory Hutchinson Did.” Complex. July 11, 2017. https://www.complex.com/music/a/shawn...
Smith, RJ. "The One: The Life and Music of James Brown," Penguin Publishing Group. 2012.
SWAY’S UNIVERSE. “Untold West Coast Stories. The Creators of the G-FUNK Era Cold 187 & Lay Law on Sway in the Morning.” YouTube. Published October 11, 2016.    • Untold West Coast Stories: The Creators of...  
Westhoff, Ben. Original Gangstas: Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, and the Birth of West Coast Rap. Hachette Book Group, Inc. 2017.

SELECTED RESOURCES:
Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/
RIAA Gold & Platinum Database. https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/

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