Hutchison is the son of songwriter Richard Hutchison and the nephew of late R&B singer Willie Hutch. Above the Law signed to Ruthless Records in late 1989, releasing their debut album, Livin’ Like Hustlers, in 1990. The album was overseen and co-produced by producer Dr. Dre, who would soon leave the label and start up Death Row Records, and featured members of the group N.W.A.Hutchinson contributed to the success of Ruthless after Dre’s departure and the breakup of N.W.A. During his tenure on the label he produced for Eazy-E’s 5150: Home 4 tha Sick and It’s On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa, MC Ren’s The Villain in Black among other projects.
Hutch and his group parted ways with Ruthless in 1996. In mid-1999, the producer was brought in by Suge Knight to replace Daz Dillinger as head producer for Death Row Records. During his tenure there, Hutchinson would oversee production on numerous albums. In 2004, Above the Law was put on hold, as Hutchinson was jailed for drug trafficking. Upon his release the group resumed recording and touring. As a solo artist, Hutch released Fresh Out the Pen in August 2008, and both EF U Hutch in November 2010, and Only God Can Judge Me in April 2011, in collaboration with Big Shot Music Group.
In 2011, as Big Hutch, Hutchinson toured with Insane Clown Posse, Twiztid and Blaze Ya Dead Homie as part of the American Psychos Tour in October. Hutchinson was a featured artist on “Where Do We Go From Here?”, which was recorded during that tour. Later in the year, it was announced that Hutchinson had signed with Psychopathic Records, and his album The Only Solution was released on October 22, 2012. Hutchinson left Psychopathic in 2013.
On April 1, 2014, Hutchinson released his self-produced new album titled The Big Hit. Shortly after the release of “The Big Hit” Cali Barnes released “Remember Me”, produced by Hutchinson, but the single failed to chart. In August 2015, Cold 187 um was featured on Dr. Dre’s album Compton on the track “Loose Cannons”. On October 24, 2015, The Hip Hop Foundation released an article on their website titled “5 Legendary Hip Hop Producers You Never Hear About” giving Hutchinson the number one spot. The article credits him for being a legend that pioneered a generation of west coast hip hop sound G-Funk.
In 2016, Netflix Originals released Hip-Hop Evolution. Hutchison appears in episode four: “The Birth of Gangsta Rap”. On October 10, 2016, Cold 187 um released The Black Godfather, a double album featuring numerous guest artists.
In 2023, Hutchinson was featured as a playable character in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.