Editors Note: Brought this back to celebrate the life and times of Big L, yesterday marked the 9 year anniversary of his death..so enjoy Flamboyant For Life and keep the comments respectful.
Big L: Flamboyant For Life Celebrating the Life and Times of L. Coleman.
Take a seat for a minute, you’re about to hear a story told all too often, except..if you’re young enough, you’ve never heard it.. Born, raised, lived, and died in Harlem, New York Big L left an unimaginable mark in Hip Hop and was one of the first MC’s to truly put Harlem on the map.
Making his first appearance in 1992 on Lord Finesse’s “Yes You May remix” Big L is mostly remembered for his freestyles, punchlines, and story telling ability.
In 1993 he released a controversial single under Columbia Records entitled “Devil’s Son.” Due to its violent and vulgar lyrics which at that time weren’t very common, the song was promptly banned from airplay across radio stations.
He then released his debut album 3 years later entitled Lifestyles ov Da Poor & Dangerous featuring rappers such as Jay-Z and Cam’ron , though barely promoted and a commercial failure, L received praise and respect from the rap community and earned Four out of Five mics from The Source Magazine.
After being dropped from Columbia due to lack of sales, L linked up with Mase, Cam’ron (then known as Murda Mase and Killa Cam respectively), Bloodshed, and McGruff to form a group called Children of The Corn. They released a compilation album entitled The Collector’s Edition however never got the chance to sign a deal due to the death of Bloodshed and Mase & Cam’ron quitting the rap game.
In 1999, With minimal success, Big L went back to the lab to record his second and LP, The Big Picture. He was murdered on the eve of February 15, 1999 blocks away from his Harlem home. L was shot multiple times in the head and chest in what many speculate to be a case of mistaken identity. Some say the shooter mistook L for his brother, Leroy Phinazee, on the night he was shot. Phinazee was later murdered on the same street as L while trying to find out who shot him. Both murders remain unsolved.
Big L never got to see the release of his second LP, The Big Picture. The critically acclaimed album, which featured appearances from rappers such as Fat Joe, Kool Moe Dee,and Big Daddy Kane went platinum in 2001 and featured the hit singles “Ebonics” and “Flamboyant.” He would’ve turned 34 today.
Some Freestyles:
Big L- DJ Kay Slay FreestyleBig L- 98 Freestyle
Big L- & Jay z- 7 Minute Freestyle
Big L- Don’t Front Freestyle
Singles Discog:
MinimalBig L- Devil’s son
Big L feat. Kid Capri- Put It on
Big L – MVP
Big L – Street Struck
Big L – Ebonics
Big L – The heist
Big L – Flamboyant
Big L – Hold It Down
Children of The Corn
Big L, Cam’ Ron, Mase, Bloodshed
Children Of The Corn – The Corn
Children Of The Corn – American Dreams
Children Of The Corn – Harlem Nights
Children Of The Corn – Don’t Sleep
Children Of The Corn – Fuck with Known Felons
The Albums
RIP Big L.
COMMENTS
Look, i hope we dont get anymother fuckers postin up 1st and shit.
the only thing we can do now as were readin this post is to show respect to him.
So RIP to Big L
and i hoped u guys wouldve put up Times is Hard on the Blvd. but u already got up some classics. 1
Wow. HUGE FUCKING PROPS TO YOU JOKESTA. Big L is one of my favorites. I had to get on Ebay to get livestyles ov da poor and dangerous but I got that shit on CD and its a nice album. The Big Picture is a gem. Its crazy the way L went out. Niggas can get on youtube and see a whole 7 minute video of Big L on a radio show a few weeks before he was merdered. Its kinda wild becasue you dont really ever see him on video just in old pictures. Big L was fuckin crazy talented. His flow was so hard core that he caught your attention right off jump. He freestyled with Jay-z and straight shitted on him. Jay made his first appearance on lifestyles ov da poor and dangerous. It kind of irks me a little that Jay always shouts out biggie and pac but never says Big L cuz that was his boy that tried to put him on. I fuckin love that nigga Big L man he was a beast and his music lives on. Mad props nigga, Im glad that he gettin some recognition. He really deserves it.
I have every Big L album. they remind me when hip hop was good. R.I.P Big L. Hip Hop needs artists like u.
B4 I go I'll just say R.I.P 2 da rappers who died like Big L, Big Pun, Eazy-E, X-1, Proof, Bugz, Pimp C, 2Pac, Biggie, O.D.B, MC Trouble, Buffy of da fat boys, Big DS of onyx, n anybody I forgot R.I.P...
you runnin wit 6oyz
im runnin wit men
imma 6e grippin mikes til im 1hundred an 10
havin dem niggaz like yo dis nigga dun dunit again
he was hip hop RIP L
R.I.P
Big L - Eazy E - 2Pac - Biggie - E-money-bag - Kadafi
This is one of the best mc's 2 ever do it way b4 his time
R>I>P BIG L
r.i.p. Big L...thats whats up!!! one of the legends!
YES! YES! YES! TRUE HIP HOP, listen to every song he is telling you something, not just random blab. All true hip hop heads can dig it. R.I.P. B.I.G L!!!!
R.I.P. L yo wheres the Yes U May remix at. That shit was fire.!!!!!
MAN THIS NIGGA IS LIKE DAMN NEAR THE REASON WE HAVE PUNCHLINE RAPPERS. NIGGAS I LUV TO HEAR LIKE JEEZY, CASSIDY WHO EVER, IF IT WASN'T FOR HIM A LOT OF NIGGAS WOULDN'T BE ON IT LIKE THAT. AND IF HE WERE ALIVE I GOT FULL FAITH HE WOULD RIP THE SHIT OUT OF EVERYBODU WHO IS OUT RIGHT NOW. R.I.P.
PS EVERBODY OUT INCLUDES NAS AND JIGGA
Them rappaz aint even close to L's talent they would cut they left nut off to rhyme like Big L.
For the record, I CONTRIBUTED 2 this record going platinum... L would've been great...
"Harlem World keep holdin' it down..."
L was sick on da mic do doubt. R.I.P Big L.
RIP Big L! one of the most underrated but sickest to do it!! real hip hop baby!!!
MY BAD, ANY REVOLUTIONARY IS ACCEPTABLE; CAM IS NOT
one of the best rappers to ever spit a whole better than thses new cats and some of these legends r.i.p big l
R.I.P Big L
Amen... Children of the Corn was somethin fuckin Serious.. Cam was spittin that piff back in the day. RIP 2 one of the Greatest. Its fucked up that all the Greats die b4 they reach they full potential
BIG L REST HOMIE! WE MISS YOU!
RIP BIG L
RIP Big L, ima try to get the radio stations in bmore to play some of your hits.
Big L possibly the best of the slain rappers. Least recognized. Thats a damn shame. Flamboyant Baby 4 Life. R.I.P. Big L
R.I.P Big L
you a real disrespectful nigga.
You couldnt have just kept that bullshit to yourself?
WEll then die nigga and lets see if ya comment gets mo props pussy!!! SCREAM AT ME 1!! Uz a dumb nigga.....
I thought the young nigga spit the truth. L was definitely nice on the mike though.
Yall just trashed homie because dude didn't call him a legend, it wasn't disrespectful, dude was nice on the mike though, and I agree with dude for the most part. Yall act like he called him wack or some shit.
the reason hip hop is dead....ignorant cats like ravenwater....!
R.I.P. Big L- Definitely in my top 5 MCs of all time-
"He was aight to me I aint gone sit here and lie. Nothing special..." - RavenH20
WTF- Are you fukin kiddin?!?!?!- U must be high or sumthin- scroll up and listen to "The Heist" - That kind of story tellin aint "aight"- "Nothin special" my ass- fuk outta here wit all that bullshit- Go grab ur ipod and listen to some jim jones or some lil boosie, son...
The thing you're missing Raven, is that Big L originated that style...He was in it before Jay, before Nas, before alotta cats.
Good shit Def Sounds... RIP to one of the Legends of Hip Hop.
truley l was one of tha best mc eva word was befor his death ROC A FELLA was gonna sign him
Big L is def a trend setter in how some of these east coast cats flow and they ran wit it once they listened to him. Any true artist in the game knows L was not some fly by shit... even Jay recognized his greatness and wanted to sign him to the Roc. Good editorial J...
Take some Big and some Pac and you mix em' up in a pot
Sprinkle a little BIG L on top, what the fuck do you got?
You got the realest and illest killas tied up in a knot
The juggernauts of this rap shit, like it or not - Em
RavenH20 — about 9 hours ago
RIP Big L! He was aight to me I aint gone sit here and lie. Nothing special and he didnt start no trends or anything because Nas was doing it way before! I aint gone hate cuz he had a flow but he definitely wasnt gonna go platinum if he was alive! Your worth more when your dead and that's just how it goes! Papoose definitely sounds like him and let's see where Papoose goes!
SOMEBODY GIVE ME AN ADDRESS. THIS NIGGA IS SPEAKING RECKLOUS ABOUT THE DEAD THAT'S NUMBER ONE, SO NOW I HAVE TO DO MY RESEARCH AND FIND WHERE YOU LIVE BOY. SECOND THIS NIGGA IS TOTALLY MIS INFORMED ABOUT HIP HOP SO AFTER ITS ALL SAID AND DONE HE GETS A WEDGIE. YALL KNOW MY STYLE. DON'T COME TO ME WITH THIS E-THUG SHIT. NOW THATS REAL HIP HOP BOYS
Man i'm gonna agree with raven to an extent.. No disrespect to the dead, but if i'm being forreal i would've never paid attention to L if he was still alive, and i know i'm not the only one.. i can understand why some older cats feel him, but i'm 17 and the furthest i go back is biggie (who also came blew up before Big L) cuz i do believe he schooled A LOT more rappers than Big L..i can hear biggie in a lot of my favorite rappers..and i gotta be forreal cuz i'm not the type to lie just to pay respect, i am paying respect but in my opinion papoose ( and a lot of other underground rappers) will give you much better listen than L. and thats just real talk
pap being better then big L,,,
get the fuck outta here son
Big L is top 5 ever to touch the mic, he real nice wit the flow, and he got some of the best lyrics ever
suck a dick
oh n i also wanna say Big L would sound so much better if he had better beats, he on some old school shit which is why its hard for me to listen to him..same reason i dont fuck wit Nas at allll. rappers who can't pick their beats just can't hold my attention.. thats prolly just me though, but i didnt metion ^ that Big L is nice, but yall makin him sound like he's the god of punchlines n shit like he fathered all these new niggas' flows... I dont know if yall noticed BUT NOBODY RAPS LIKE THAT ANYMORE.. jay z even switched his style up since then and look where he's at now..just think about it, i aint come to argue n start shit but it 100% o.k. to pay respect.. but dont disrespect other people who struggled just as hard as (or harder than) Big L to get where they're at now
ok ok, i think i understand why you sayin all this...
caz you the krack man..
get off that krack nigga dat shit messes wit your head and youll start makin weird desicions like you jus did
Aren't you a writer for defsounds? If so, you would think someone in your position would be a little more "professional" in your comments and not type in all caps like a third grader. Calm down, just because not every one has the same opinion as you doesn't mean you have to blow your lid and start name calling. Maybe you're the one that should grow up.
He isn't a writer here.
LMAO @ RealRap.... yo respect his opinion or taste. Not everyone is gonna like what you like or feel the shit you are. I mean I don't agree with him at all, but its all good. I mean Dr Seuss birthed a lot of careers in hip hop but he don't get his respect! :0)
I FEEL YOU MY NIGG^^^^^^^^^
RIP BIG L
He's the influence of alot of east coast and mid west shit in fact all rap....
he influned alot but don't forget there are niggas that influenced him and so on and so on............
i was reading krackmans shit n it made me think
YOU KNOW ALL THIS I DONT LIKE RAP SHIT IS GETTING ON MY NERVES.........
there is always going to be a style to define an era and music is like a fuckin merry go round ......so lyrics and intricate rhyming ain't in it'll be BACK like as soon as everyones done dancing n shit.........
yall know what i miss ......like who's gonna start the new shiny suits era....like the whole i'm happy i got money shit,like BEEN AROUND DA WORLd-MASE, n shit like that.......i think everyones sick of these ex hustlin i don't know what to write because im not broke no more ass rappers.BE HAPPY YOU GOT MONEY, n fuck everything else.....we need a new golden era of rap..........hip hop aint dead ...it's chillin with alternative music and boy bands ....you can't kill music!!! Im sure that it might not be the same but it's evolving into something that we'll enjoy a lot more.......it's like growing your hair out. OLD sCHOOL RAP is like that fresh fade and were going through that ugly stage right now...so just put your hat on and chill my niggas we gon be bolted down soon enough......
Nice...Its So True!!!!
Nice...Its So True!!!!
I love this. I'm an MC myself and I can hear and feel the dedication in each of these songs. The lyricism and rhythm really drew me in. I give Big L and all of the other true MC's and lyricists big props. I feel that is what's missing from most of hip hop today. But like rapgod said before me I feel we're headed towards a new era in music because everyone's picking up on the lack of talent with most of today's top rappers. I just hope we reach something better soon, before we lose everything.
"HOW COME, YOU CAN LISTEN 2 MY FIRST ALBUM -
AND TELL WHERE A LOT OF NIGGAS GOT THEY WHOLE STYLE FROM" BIG L
RIP Big L, one of the best to ever touch the mic.
GOod article.....one of the top 5 mc's period....its sad cause some of the greatest rappers never got a chance to reach there full potential...rip l....throw ya l's up!!!!!!
damn REALRAP calm yo old ass down... thats my opinion if you dont like it i dun really give a fuck... i said "i can understand why older people like him" cuz he's old school.. but that era is over now face it.. pretty much everybody in the hood thats my age wants sumthin they can dance to (i.e. THE SNAP MUSIC THAT EVERYBODY HATES). And thats REAL FUCKIN TALK!!! niggas in the hood (in chicago at least) aint bumpin no Lyrical shit! but theres plenty of people that arent in the hood (in chicago) that enjoy listening to that old school rap too... but they some old ass niggas
So because my opinion was different I'm the reason Hip Hop Is dead Nah I just dont follow the crowd! I'm not gonna say a MC is hot and I didnt feel he was hot! He was aight he wasnt Nas though! Big L is in the limelight because of his death and thats that because before his death no one knew who he was but Eastcoast rappers and a few rare coasts. Big L wasnt horrible I'm not saying that but he wasnt GREAT! Put it like this I wouldnt cop his album if someone bought it 4 me!
Yall giving him too much credit! And um to the smart ass Im from Southside Jamaica Queenz Allday U can come see me! People think everybody started this and started that that punchline shit been around since DMC that fast flow shit been out he wasnt hot to me! He was aight i never shit on a rapper! This guy wasnt the truth though if he was he wouldnt have flopped his first album and his second album was in death! Real Talk!
Oh Yeah I Listen to more R&B than rap nowadayz cuz these niggaz iz washed up but big shouts to Jay Z, Nas, Busta Rhymes & Kanye
damn... i think i may b the first one here to say big l coleon takes the throne hands down.....but im glad im not the only one that realized my nigga poosey sound a lil like L.
RAVENH20 COULD EASILY BE A TRANSEXUAL
ya mother too right! Yall niggaz ridin L dick!
Jokesta — "Hi haters!" — 1 day ago
The thing you're missing Raven, is that Big L originated that style...He was in it before Jay, before Nas, before alotta cats.
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This is true but not for Nas, actually nas came on the scene a whole year befor Big L.
Remember Nas on Main Source's Breaking Atoms in 1991 yea thats what i thought....and yea i Have a copy of Nas' demo tape in my collection most of them tracks were made in 1990...this is coming from a real hip hop fan...So Yea Big L is the sickest and yet smatest freestyler ever...he already remembered them words and play around with thing that are actuaaly happening when he freestyles he mixxes them you can tell because of sum of the complex metaphore that appear in some of his freestyle or should I say most..."far from broke /got enough bread and mad hoes/ask beavus i get nun butt- head" Wow this is obviously isnt made up on the the spot no what I mean...He is the best at it still, when sum one else freestyles you can tell all the lines that are written and the one that are of the top which is more than rare if you know what I mean....Im out...Speaking real HIP HOPers...no dummass shud reply to my comment
camel — 2 days ago
but im glad im not the only one that realized my nigga poosey sound a lil like L.
No yo, nattafact i heard a song of Pap back in 1998(wen pap first appeared) and thought it was Big L, i dint realize it untill my cousin told me so i was like damn is dude trynna bite L's style but Pap's killed ripped it tho....but now i think on the mic both of their voices is simillar and it takes over the beat and they just happen to be lirical so they actually sound alike. I like both though oh the Pap song from 98 was called " Rock On" and no its not big L u might get confused
so nobody doubts my first comment even though I speak with fact, listen to Big L- Devil's Son (Up there) the hook is actually from the same song I was refering to from Main Source feat Nas ( which was its first appearence on the scene) hows is that possible to sample from sumthing that came after you drop ur album lol so yea my facts are st8 once again...
We supposed to be honoring the dude and look we always somehow manage to get into a senseless and pointless argument over a dumb ass comment. If you don't have nothing to say positive then don't comment especially in this article.
I remember when Lifestyles... came out in 1994 when a lot of you were climbing monkey bars and sliding down boards, see sawing and shit. Snot Nose is what I mean. Most of you didn't even give the joints posted a listen. Most of you never heard these joints and didn't give the classics a second listen.
R.I.P Big L because if he were hear today along with maybe Pac and Big then you would continue to not listen to and embrace their music like it should be.
It is a Got Damn Shame where music is in most of us because it definitely does not reside in some of our hearts. These are indeed the last days. 5000
^^^^^^^ a man i feel you eventhough i am young (15)i love the rap which is considered back in the day you know..... i feel you 100% man that is some real shit man and i understand where you are coming from%
1 luv man!!!