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Date of birth:May 30,1974 Place of birth:Harlem,New York City,New York,U.S.
Date deceased:February 15,1999 (aged 24) Place of death:Harlem,New York City,New York,U.S.Cause of death:Murder
About Big L:
When it comes to Big L,I can say that,to me,if rap was some kind of sport he would have won many gold medals.His repertoire of words was amazing.He had so powerful lyrics & rhymes,that is unbelievable how he got 'em all together.The reason why he is not so popular like 2pac and Biggie,except the fact he had a pretty short career (he released only one album during his life),is that he didn't put his emotions to his songs so much,and wasn't always rapping about the stuff that was happening to him (even though he made some songs of that type,like ''street struck'').But when it comes to pure rhyming,he is one of the best & in my personal opinion the best freestyler I ever heard.It's like,he could make a whole album by heart,off the top of the head.The first song ever that I heard from Big L was ''put it on''.That's probably his most famous song,in which he has shown all of his skills.One thing I especially like about him is that,he always stayed true to his style,and agressive but also very clever and metaphoric style of rapping.His death was great,great loss for hip-hop,and it's a shame he died so young.Knowing that his career was yet to come to the top,he still had a lot to give for the rap music.
Generally about Big L:
Big L (real name Lamont Coleman) was born on May 30,1974,in Harlem,NYC.At the beginnig he was battling & freestyling in his neighborhood,the part of harlem called the ''danger zone''.Lord Finesse saw one of his freestyles & brought him in the ''Yo! MTV Raps'' show to promote his album.It was Finesse's song on which Big L made his first appearance.The song was called ''yes you may(remix)''.Not long after that in 1993,Big L singed for Columbia Records,& joined the group DITC (Diggin in the Crates Crew),whose members were Diamond D,Buckwild,O.C.,Fat Joe,Showbiz and A.G.Soon after that he released his first single ''Devil's Son''.On November 13,1994 he released the video for his single ''Put It On''.His first album called ''Lyfestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous'' was released in March 28,1995,and was sold in over 200,000 copies.In 1996 he left Columbia Records and started working on his second album ''The Big Picture''.which will be released after his death.Because he wanted to make music the way he liked,he formed his own indenpendet label ''Flamboyant Entertainment'' in 1998.At the same year,he released the single ''Ebonics''.CEO of Roc-A-Fella Records,Damon Dash liked the song & wanted to sign him up.Also Jay-Z & Big L was about to form a new rap group with few other rappers.The process started on February 8,1999,but just a week later Big L was murdered.
Big L's Death:
On the February 15,1995,while walking down the 45 West 139th street,just few blocks from where he grew up,he was shot nine times in the face and the chest.He was killed in the drive-by shooting style.His childhood friend Gerard Woodley was then arrested & accused for killing Big L,but he was later released because of lack of the evidence.The murder remains unsolved,but there was some speculations that he was killed by mistake.The killer allegedly mistook him for his brother Big Lee,who got in some feud with some people.It's also possible that he was killed in retaliation for something his brother did.
Big L discography:
1995: Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous
Posthumous albums:
2000: The big picture
2010: 139 and Lenox
2010: Return of the Devil's Son
2011: The Danger Zone
2012: L Corleone
