''Black Mafia Life'' is the second studio album by American hip hop group Above the Law. This album is what would be considered the blueprint of the

G-Funk G-funk, short for gangsta funk, is a sub-genre of gangsta rap that emerged from the West Coast scene in the late 1980s. The genre is heavily influenced by 1970s psychedelic funk (P-funk) sound of artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic. Charac ...

sound similar to Dr Dre's

The Chronic ''The Chronic'' is the debut studio album by the American hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It was released on December 15, 1992, by his record label Death Row Records and distributed by Interscope Records. Recording sessions took place in ...

. The album was recorded in 1991 into 1992 but was held back due to legal issues with Epic And Dr. Dre's Departure from Ruthless Records. It was released on February 2, 1993, via Ruthless Records. The album peaked at number 6 on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated ...

and number 37 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' gave the album 4.5 stars of 5. As on the group's previous works, ''

Livin' Like Hustlers ''Livin' Like Hustlers'' is the debut album by American hip hop group Above the Law. It was released on February 20, 1990, via Ruthless Records; an advanced promo cassette version was released two months earlier. The ten track record was produc ...

'' and ''

Vocally Pimpin' ''Vocally Pimpin is the debut extended play by American hip hop group Above the Law. It was released on July 16, 1991 via Ruthless Records. The first five songs on this nine track record are newly recorded material, while the rest four are rem ...

'', this album's audio production was mostly handled by A.T.L. themselves, but this one excluded any contributions from Lay Law. It featured guest appearances from

Kokane Jerry Buddy Long Jr. (born March 10, 1969), better known by his stage name Kokane, is an American recording artist best known for his distinctive vocal style and numerous guest appearances, such as on Snoop Dogg's ''Tha Last Meal''. Early life ...

, Eazy-E,

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

MC Ren Lorenzo Jerald Patterson (born June 16, 1969), better known by his stage name MC Ren, is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer from Compton, California. He is the founder and owner of the record label Villain Entertainment. MC Ren ...

, and

Money-B Ronald Brooks, better known by his stage name Money-B, is an American rapper, best known for being a member of the funk and rap group Digital Underground. He is a member of Raw Fusion with DJ Fuze whom they had two albums, ''Live From the Style ...

. Its lead single "V.S.O.P." peaked at number 9 on the

Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stati ...

and number 97 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

. Above the Law member Go Mack left the group after release of this album.

Track listing

All tracks produced by Above The Law Notes *Track 2 contents elements from "

(Not Just) Knee Deep "(Not Just) Knee Deep" is a funk song, with a running time of 15 minutes, 21 seconds, on Side 1 of Funkadelic's 1979 album ''Uncle Jam Wants You''. Song information An edited version of the song, appearing as Side A on the single release, reache ...

" by

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkade ...

(1979) and "Eulogy and Light" by Funkadelic (1970) *Track 3 contents elements from "Can Move You (If You Let Me)" by

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

(1974), "Atomic Dog" by George Clinton (1982) and " Back to Life (Club Mix)" by

Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...

(1989) *Track 4 contents elements from "Synthetic Substitution" by

Melvin Bliss Melvin McClelland (June 1, 1945-July 26, 2010) was a rhythm and blues singer known for his 1973 song " Reward/Synthetic Substitution", the B-side of which was heavily sampled

(1973) *Track 5 contents elements from "Introducing The Players" by Ohio Players (1975) *Track 6 contents elements from "Freak Of The Week" by Funkadelic (1979) and "4 The Funk Of It" by Above The Law (1991) *Track 7 contents elements from "Colour Me Funky" by Parliament (1979), "Bring The Noise" by

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

(1987), "Wino & Junkie" by

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...

(1974), "Scenario (Remix)" by A Tribe Called Quest &

Leaders of the New School Leaders of the New School was an American hip hop group based in Long Island, New York. History The crew was composed of Uniondale, New York, natives Charlie Brown (born Bryan Higgins on September 19, 1970) and Dinco D (born James Jackson on No ...

(1992) and "Let's Have Some Fun" by

Bar-Kays The Bar-Kays are an American funk band formed in 1964. The band had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including "Soul Finger" (US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number 17, R&B number 3) in 1967, "Son of Shaft" (R&B number 10) in ...

(1977) *Track 8 contents elements from "On The Floor" by

Fatback Band The Fatback Band (later, simply Fatback) is an American funk and disco band that was popular in the 1970s and 1980s. The Fatback Band is most known for their R&B hits, "(Do the) Spanish Hustle", "I Like Girls", "Gotta Get My Hands on Some (Mone ...

(1982) *Track 9 contents elements from "Fat Cat" by Bootsy Collins (1980), "Mothership Connection (Star Child)" by Parliament (1975), "Good Old Music" by Funkadelic (1970), "Heaven And Hell Is On Earth" by 20th Century Steel Band (1975) and "Niggers Are Scared Of Revolution" by

The Last Poets The Last Poets are several groups of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African-American civil rights movement's black nationalism. The name is taken from a poem by the South African revolutionary poet Keorapetse Kgositsile, who bel ...

(1970) *Track 10 contents elements from "

I Can't Go for That (No Can Do) "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" is a song by the American duo Daryl Hall and John Oates. Written by Daryl Hall, John Oates and Sara Allen, the song was released as the second single from their tenth studio album, '' Private Eyes'' (1981). ...

" by

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

(1981), "Backstrokin'" by Fatback Band (1980), "Cutie Pie" by One Way (1982), "

Genius of Love "Genius of Love" is a 1981 hit song by Tom Tom Club from their 1981 eponymous debut album. It reached number one on the '' Billboard'' Disco Top 80 chart. Background "Genius of Love" is Tom Tom Club's second single. Although the album had not ...

" by

Tom Tom Club Tom Tom Club is an American new wave band founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth and as a side project from Talking Heads. Their best known songs include " Wordy Rappinghood", " Genius of Love", and a cover ...

(1981) and "The Bertha Butt Boogie" by

The Jimmy Castor Bunch James Walter Castor (January 23, 1940 – January 16, 2012) was an American funk, R&B, and soul musician. He is credited with vocals, saxophone and composition. He is best known for songs such as "It's Just Begun", "The Bertha Butt Boogie", an ...

(1974) *Track 11 contents elements from "Do the Funky Penguin (Part 2)" by Rufus Thomas (1971), "Atomic Dog (Extended Version)" by George Clinton (1982), "You're a Customer" by

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is a concatenation of the members' names "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. ...

(1988) and "Another Execution" by Above the Law (1990) *Track 12 contents elements from "Bon Bon Vie (Gimme the Good Life)" by T.S. Monk (1980) *Track 13 contents elements from "Housequake" by

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

(1987) and "Keep on Movin'" by Soul II Soul (1989) *Track 14 contents elements from "Heartbeat" by

Taana Gardner Taana Gardner (born September 3, 1960) is an American disco and post-disco singer who found her success through West End Records since 1979. She is also a former member of the Aural Exciters. Early life Born in Newark, New Jersey (where sh ...

(1981) and "Gigolo" by Fatback Band (1981)

Personnel

* Gregory Fernan Hutchinson — producer, scratches, keyboards, mixing * Kevin Michael Gulley — co-producer, scratches * Arthur Lee Goodman III — co-producer, scratches * Anthony Stewart — co-producer, scratches * Eric Wright — guest vocals (track 8), executive producer * Jerry Long, Jr. — guest vocals (tracks 2, 8, 13) *

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

— guest vocals (track 6) * Ronald Brooks — guest vocals (track 6) * Lorenzo Patterson — guest vocals (track 11) *

Brian Gardner Brian Knapp Gardner, also known as Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, is an American mastering engineer. He has worked on a number of recordings since the mid-1960s, including classic rock, funk, disco, alternative rock, R&B, hip hop, pop punk and dance- ...

— mastering * Donovan Smith — mixing * Mark Paladino — mixing * Michael Sims — guitar * B-Laid Back Edwards — keyboards * David Elliot — scratches * D.J. Sno — scratches * Poet H.B. — scratches (track 10) * Mary Ann Dibs — art direction, design * Julio Estrada — photography * Mark Machado — artwork *

Digital Underground Digital Underground was an American alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. Their personnel changed and rotated with each album and tour. Digital Underground's leader and mainstay was Gregory " Shock G" Jacobs (also known as Humpty H ...

— backing vocals * Tha Pimp Clinic — backing vocals * Tha New Funkateers — backing vocals

Chart positions

;

Billboard Music Charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the '' ...

album * ''Billboard'' 200 (#37) *

(#6) ;

singles *"V.S.O.P." (

) (#9) *"V.S.O.P." (

) (#97)

References

{{Authority control 1993 albums G-funk albums Ruthless Records albums Above the Law (group) albums Albums produced by Cold 187um