''Livin' Like Hustlers'' is the debut album by American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

group Above the Law. It was released on February 20, 1990, via

Ruthless Records Ruthless Records was an American independent record label founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller in Compton, California on March 3, 1987. All of the Ruthless trademarks have been owned by Comptown Records, Inc. since 1987. Several ...

; an advanced promo cassette version was released two months earlier. The album was produced by

Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...

and Above the Law and featured a guest performance from

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the great ...

on "The Last Song".

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. Eazy-E is often re ...

served as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

. It peaked at number 14 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 Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

and number 75 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200. The album included two

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

s " Murder Rap" and "Untouchable", which both charted at number one on the

Hot Rap Songs 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 stat ...

. The album's lead single, "Murder Rap", also peaked at number 41 on the

Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales The Dance Singles Sales was a record chart released weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine listing each week's best-selling Dance music, dance singles in the United States. Its previous names include Hot Dance/Disco 12-inch Singles ...

. In 1998, the album was selected as one of ''

The Source The Source may refer to: Film and television * ''The Source'' (1918 film), 1918 American drama directed by George Melford * ''The Source'' (1999 film), a 1999 documentary film about the Beat generation * ''The Source'' (2002 film), a 2002 scienc ...

s 100 Best Rap Albums Ever.

Critical reception

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' opined that "Cold 187um and KMG are defeated by their unimaginative writing and sloppy rapping."

In popular culture

* "Murder Rap" was featured in the 2009 film '' Pineapple Express'' and in the 2004 video game '' Grand Theft Auto San Andreas''. * "Freedom of Speech" appeared on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

to the 1990 film '' Pump Up the Volume''.

Track listing

All songs produced by Dr. Dre and Above the Law. Sample credits *"Murder Rap" contains elements from "Ironside" by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

(1971), "Hook and Sling - Part I" by

Eddie Bo Edwin Joseph Bocage (September 20, 1930 – March 18, 2009), known as Eddie Bo, was an American singer and pianist from New Orleans. Schooled in jazz, he was known for his blues, soul and funk recordings, compositions, productions and arrang ...

(1969), "Keep Your Distance" by Babe Ruth (1976), "

Funky Drummer "Funky Drummer" is a song by James Brown recorded in 1969 and released as a single in 1970. Its drum break, Musical improvisation, improvised by Clyde Stubblefield, is one of the most frequently sampling (music), sampled music recordings. Recor ...

" by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

(1970) and "Sister Sanctified" by

Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist and record producer. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note Reco ...

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solos as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet and his penchant for collaborating with ...

(1972) *"Untouchable" contains elements from " Light My Fire" by Young-Holt Unlimited (1969), "Ironside" by Quincy Jones (1971), "Funky Drummer" by James Brown (1970), "

Fuck tha Police "Fuck tha Police" is a protest song by American hip hop group N.W.A that appears on the 1989 album ''Straight Outta Compton'' as well as on the ''N.W.A's Greatest Hits'' compilation. The lyrics protest police brutality and racial profiling ...

" by

(1988) *"Livin' Like Hustlers" contains elements from "Hikky Burr" by Quincy Jones &

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

(1971), "The Champ" by The Mohawks (1968), "Hot (I Need to Be Loved, Loved, Loved, Loved)" by James Brown (1975), "Comm. 2" by

The D.O.C. Tracy Lynn Curry (born June 10, 1968), better known by his stage name the D.O.C., is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Along with his solo career, he was a member of the Southern hip hop group Fila Fresh Crew, and later co-wr ...

(1989) and " The Big Beat" by

Billy Squier William Haislip Squier (, born May 12, 1950) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who had a string of arena rock and crossover hits in the early 1980s. His best-known songs include " The Stroke", " Lonely Is the Night", " My Kinda Love ...

(1980) *"Another Execution" contains elements from "Do Your Thing" by

Lyn Collins Gloria Lavern Collins (June 12, 1948 – March 13, 2005), better known as Lyn Collins, was an American soul singer best known for working with James Brown in the 1970s and for the influential 1972 funk single, "Think (About It)". A favorite ...

(1972), "Good Old Music" by

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, ...

(1970) and "Afro-Strut" by the Nite-Liters (1972) *"Menace to Society" contains elements from "Let a Woman Be a Woman, Let a Man Be a Man" by Dyke and the Blazers (1969), "

I Got You (I Feel Good) "I Got You (I Feel Good)" is a song by the American singer James Brown. First recorded for the 1964 album '' Out of Sight'' and then released in an alternate take as a single in 1965 and included on the compilation album of the same name, it w ...

" by James Brown (1965) and "Once You Get It", "This House Is Smokin'", "Do You Like It" by B.T. Express (1974) *"Just Kickin' Lyrics" contains elements from "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" by

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwr ...

(1969), "More Peas" by

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s, and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band le ...

& the J.B.'s (1973), "Papa Was Too" by

Joe Tex Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 – August 13, 1982), known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the style ...

(1966) *"Ballin'" contains elements from "Why Have I Lost You" by Cameo (1977) *"Freedom of Speech" contains elements from "The Message from the Soul Sisters" by Myra Barnes (1970) and "Funky Drummer" by James Brown (1970) *"Flow On" contains elements from "Move Me No Mountain" by Love Unlimited (1974) and "Paid in Full" by Eric B. & Rakim (1987) *"The Last Song" contains elements from "Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms)" by

the Detroit Emeralds The Detroit Emeralds are an American Rhythm and blues, R&B/soul vocal group, best known in the early 1970s. They enjoyed a run of successful records in the decade including their 1973 transatlantic hit single, "Feel the Need in Me". Career "The ...

(1972) and "Gangsta Gangsta" by N.W.A (1988)

Personnel

* Gregory Fernan Hutchinson - lead vocals, additional vocals, producer * Kevin Michael Gulley - lead vocals, additional vocals, producer * Arthur Lee Goodman III - additional vocals, producer * Larry Goodman - additional vocals, producer, management * Anthony Stewart - additional vocals, producer * Eric Wright - guest vocals, executive producer * Andre Young - guest vocals, producer * Lorenzo Patterson - guest vocals * Michael Sims - additional vocals, guitar, bass * Andre "L.A. Dre" Bolton - keyboards *

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-p ...

- mastering * Donovan Smith - engineering * Helane Freeman - art direction * Peter Dokus - photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

References

{{Authority control 1990 debut albums Ruthless Records albums Albums produced by Laylaw Albums produced by Dr. Dre Above the Law (group) albums Albums produced by Cold 187um