Released August 8, 1987 Length 45:03 Label Cold Chillin' Records | Recorded 1986–1987 Down by Law(1987) Born to be Wild(1988) Release date 8 August 1987 | |
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Similar Born to Be Wild, In Control - Volume 1, Battle for Rap Supremacy, Long Live the Kane, Goin' Off | ||
Down by Law is the debut album by East Coast hip hop artist MC Shan. Released at the height of the Bridge Wars, a feud between artists started by South Bronx's KRS-One responding to the Queensbridge anthem "The Bridge". The album contains the diss track, "Kill That Noise" in response to The Bridge Is Over. The album is produced by Marley Marl. It was the only Cold Chillin'/Warner Bros. album that was never initially released on CD by its distributor. The album was not released on that format until 1995, long after the 5-year distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records ended. By this time, Cold Chillin' distributed its material independently, mostly from its back catalog. This CD pressing would only be available for a limited time and went out of print for a few years. It was then re-released in 2001 as MC Shan: the Best of Cold Chillin', which featured all the tracks from Down by Law (except "Another One to Get Jealous Of") with a few additional non-album tracks. This version is now out of print as well. In 2007, it was re-released again by its new owner, Traffic Entertainment, in expanded form as a double-disc set with bonus tracks.
Contents
Reception
In a contemporary review, The Washington Post stated that the album's "sound is not particularly innovative, Shan creates a wiry visceral groove on such tracks as "Kill That Noise" and "Living in the World of Hip Hop"" In 1998, it was listed in The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums.
Track listing
Songs
1Jane - Stop This Crazy Thing3:59
2Project ’Ho5:10
3The Bridge4:23