Gregory “Big Hutch” Hutchinson a.k.a.Cold 187um
from pioneering Hip-Hop group Above the Law has been indicted for conspiracy
to traffic almost 1,000 pound of marijuana.
Hutchinson turned himself in yesterday, to begin serving an
unspecified amount of time for violating federal drug laws.
In an exclusive interview with AllHipHop.com before he started
serving his time, Hutchinson explained how his simple association with the wrong
people landed him in the hands of federal authorities.
Hutchinson said that unidentified men he had once been in contact
with were arrested by federal agents in a drug sting. The men claimed that Hutchinson
had financed their drug operation, a charge he denies.
“I knew them through mutual friends,” Hutchinson
told AllHipHop.com. “It was a situation where guys who were working with
my company and doing their thing. I had knowledge of what was going down, but
that’s it. They decided to put me in it and I was hit with a conspiracy
charge. That’s just the way it played out. I confess up to my wrong doing.
It’s just that you don’t know who your friends are.”
According to Hutchinson’s account, an employee of his
record label was being monitored by federal agents and that is how he came to
the attention of law enforcement.
Authorities claim that Hutchinson financed the drug operation
and that his label was the recipient of the drug proceeds, a charge the rapper/producer
vehemently denied.
Hutchinson recently
finished his second solo album, Live from the Ghetto on his West World
Records and is preparing another album that will be released during his incarceration
titled Only God Can Judge Me.
"Sometimes we try to help people too much and you can’t
really play that anymore," Hutchinson said. "They are putting us legit
guys trying to help get guys off the street in a stronghold.”
This is not the first time a group member has come under the
eye of federal authorities. In February of 2002, group member Anthony “Total
K-Oss” Stewart pleaded guilty to drug and child-endangerment charges after
police found rock cocaine in his Corona, California apartment.
According to court
documents, the drugs had a potential street value of $250,000. Above The Law
was signed to Eazy E’s Ruthless imprint and in the early 90’s released
their ground breaking album, Living Like Hustlers.
The album is hailed
as one of the groundbreaking releases of the era, due to the involvement of
a young producer named Dr. Dre, who helped produced the album with Above The
Law.
The group was also signed to Suge Knight’s Death Row Records
for a period of time.