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Above the Law (group)

American hip hop group

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 19, 2026
Entity authorityQ323178
Source-derived summary

Above the Law was an American hip-hop group from Pomona, California, founded in 1989 by Cold 187um, KMG the Illustrator, Go Mack, and DJ Total K-Oss.

Biography

In 1989, the group signed with Eazy-E's Ruthless Records. While there, the group became an additional influence in pioneering with N.W.A. Their first album on Ruthless, 1990's Livin' Like Hustlers, featured a guest appearance from N.W.A and production from Dr. Dre. Above the Law member Cold 187um worked closely with Dre on production, and the two influenced each other. The songs "Murder Rap" and "Untouchable" became minor hits from the album. "Murder Rap" later appeared in the 2008 film Pineapple Express, and the song "Freedom of Speech" was also featured in the 1990 movie Pump Up the Volume and its soundtrack album. In September 1990, members of Above the Law clashed with Ice Cube and his posse, Da Lench Mob, during the annual New Music Seminar conference.

The group's first album, Livin' Like Hustlers, was released in 1990. This album, which came out before Dr.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Above the Law (group)” is american hip hop group. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Above, group and American, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1989, 1990, 2008—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1989. For this dossier, Above, group and American is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “american hip hop group” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q323178. VIAF identifies the subject as 152388164. The Library of Congress control number is n91120073. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1989, 1990 and 2008.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Above the Law (group)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Above the Law (group) primary sources, Above the Law (group) archive and Above research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Above the Law (group)”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Above the Law (group)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.