Illegal was a short-lived hip hop duo composed of

Jamal Phillips Jamal Phillips (born April 26, 1979), known professionally mononymously as Jamal and formerly as Mally G, is an American rapper and record producer. He started his career as one-half of rap duo Illegal, the rap act formed by Dallas Austin in the ...

(

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

) and Malik Edwards (Holly Hill, South Carolina) that was signed to

Rowdy Records Rowdy Records is a record label distributed through Motown. It was founded by record producer Dallas Austin in 1992, and the precursor to his entertainment company, Freeworld Entertainment. History Formed in 1992 by producers Dallas Austin and ...

History

The duo, known to be affiliated with the hip-hop collective

Hit Squad The Hit Squad is an American hip hop collective of East coast hip hop artists. Originally formed in the 1990s by Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith of the rap group EPMD, the group included rap artists such as K-Solo, Redman, Das EFX, Top Quality, ...

, made their debut with the album, '' The Untold Truth'', released in 1993, which was a minor success, peaking at No. 119 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and No. 19 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 J ...

. Several tracks on the album, including its two singles, " Head or Gut" and " We Getz Busy," were diss songs directly aimed at rivals

Kris Kross Kris Kross was an American hip hop duo that consisted of Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith. Kris Kross was the youngest hip-hop duo to gain success, with gold and platinum albums at 12 and 13 years old. The duo was discover ...

and

Da Youngstas Da Youngsta's is an American rap group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great ...

. The duo virtually disappeared from the public eye until 1995, when it teamed with

Too Short Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by the stage name Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper and record producer. He became famous in the West Coast hip hop scene in the late 1980s, with lyrics often based on ...

on the song "Thangs Change", after which the group disbanded. Jamal Phillips would later release his debut solo album, '' Last Chance, No Breaks'', in 1995 on

. Malik released one single for Rowdy Records titled "Malik Goes On", but his debut album was shelved. Malik worked with Monica on ''

Miss Thang ''Miss Thang'' is the debut studio album by American R&B recording artist Monica. It was released by Rowdy Records and distributed through the Arista label on July 18, 1995, in the United States. Recorded throughout her early teenage years, the ...

''; and later with his cousin

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

on ''

Doggystyle ''Doggystyle'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Snoop Dogg (then known as Snoop Doggy Dogg). It was released on November 23, 1993, by Death Row Records and Interscope Records. The album was recorded and produced following Snoop's app ...

'';

Warren G Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970) is an American rapper and producer known for his role in West Coast rap's 1990s ascent.Steve Huey"Warren G: Biography" ''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited May 8, 2020. Along with Snoop Dogg and N ...

on '' Regulate...G Funk Era'' and ''

Take a Look Over Your Shoulder ''Take a Look Over Your Shoulder'' is the second studio album by the G-funk rapper Warren G. It was released on March 25, 1997 under his own label G-Funk Entertainment and Def Jam Recordings. It contains the hits "I Shot the Sheriff" (US#20, U ...

''; and

Tha Dogg Pound Tha Dogg Pound is an American hip hop duo made up of rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. They were signed to Death Row Records in their early careers and were key to the label's success. Kurupt and Daz went on to release solo albums starting in ...

on ''

Dogg Food ''Dogg Food'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Tha Dogg Pound, released on Halloween 1995. Its controversial lyrics were the subject of shareholder protest. The album was supposed to be released in July 1995, but as a result of ...

'' and finally released his debut album in 2005, ''The Game Needs Me''.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Music videos

References

{{Authority control American hip hop groups American musical duos Hip hop duos Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups disestablished in 1995 Musical groups from Philadelphia 1993 establishments in the United States