Illegal was an American hip hop duo composed of Jamal Phillips (

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

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

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

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 ...

, 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 Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

. 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 were an American hip hop duo, composed of rappers Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith, formed by record producer Jermaine Dupri. They were the youngest hip-hop group to gain commercial success, charting releases by t ...

and

Da Youngstas Da Youngsta's is an American rap group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United Sta ...

. 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 his stage name Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper. A pioneer of West Coast hip-hop, Shaw was among the first acts to receive recognition in the genre during the late ...

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''; and later with his cousin

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

on ''

Doggystyle ''Doggystyle'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg. It was released on November 23, 1993, by Death Row and Interscope Records. The album was recorded and produced following Snoop Doggy Dogg's appearances on Dr. Dre's ...

'';

Warren G Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and DJ who helped popularize West Coast hip hop during the 1990s.Steve Huey"Warren G: Biography" ''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited May 8, 2020. ...

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

Take a Look Over Your Shoulder ''Take a Look Over Your Shoulder'' is the second solo studio album by American hip-hop musician Warren G. It was released on March 25, 1997, via Rush Associated Labels. The recording sessions took place at G-Funk Studios in Lakewood, Golden Lad ...

''; and

Tha Dogg Pound Tha Dogg Pound is an American hip-hop duo composed of West Coast rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. They were among the first acts to sign to Death Row Records in 1992. Kurupt and Daz went on to release solo albums starting in 1998; they left th ...

on ''

Dogg Food ''Dogg Food'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Tha Dogg Pound, released on October 31, 1995, by Death Row Records, Interscope Records and Priority Records. The album features guest appearances from Snoop Doggy Dogg, Nate D ...

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

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Music videos

References

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