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Down by Law
Down by Law
Studio album by MC Shan

Released

8 August 1987

Recorded

1984-1987

Genre

Hip hop

Length

45:03

Label

Cold Chillin'/Warner Bros.

Producer

Marley Marl

MC Shan chronology

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Born to Be Wild (1988)

Down by Law is the debut album by American rapper MC Shan, released in 1987 on Cold Chillin' Records. Released at the height of The Bridge Wars, the album contains various diss tracks aimed at South Bronx artists, most notably KRS-One. The most prodigious of these disses are "Kill That Noise" and "The Bridge". 

The album peaked at #40 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It is the only Cold Chillin'/Warner Bros. album that was never initially released on CD by its distributor. It was not released on that format until 1995, long after the five-year distribution deal with Warner Bros. had 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. Traffic Entertainment, which recently acquired Cold Chillin' material, repressed the album in a deluxe edition in 2007, but it is rare and sells for high prices.

Track listing[]

All songs performed by MC Shan. All songs written by S. Moltke and M. Williams. All songs produced by Marley Marl.

No. Title Time
1. "Jane, Stop This Crazy Thing" 3:59
2. "Project Hoe" 5:10
3. "The Bridge" 4:23
4. "Kill That Noise" 5:13
5. "Down by Law" 3:34
6. "Left Me - Lonely" 5:21
7. "Another One to Get Jealous Of" 5:54
8. "M.C. Space" 4:24
9. "Living in the World of Hip Hop" 5:13
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