Down by Law is the debut album by East Coast hip hop artist MC Shan.

The album contains the diss track, "Kill That Noise" in response to South Bronx (as well as an edit of "The Bridge").

The album is produced by Marley Marl, and was distributed by Cold Chillin' Records independently (the label's very first LP release, catalog #CCLP-500), until a distribution deal was struck with Warner Bros. Records (1988), then the album was reissued with slight sample edits.

The album was not released on that format until 1995, long after the 5-year distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records ended.

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""[2] In 1998, it was listed in The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums.