By Curt and Jamila Hayman (Chief Editors),
on Saturday May, 24 2008 11:28:53 am MST
Lamont Coleman (May 30, 1974 – February 15, 1999), better known by his stage name Big L, was an American rapper. Big L was born, raised, lived, and fatally shot in the same New York City neighborhood, Harlem, which frequently appeared in his rhymes. He is mostly remembered for his freestyling, storytelling, punchlines, his critically acclaimed debut album Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous, and his murder at the age of 24.
Lamont Coleman was born to Gilda Terry on May 30, 1974, in Harlem, New York. As an adolescent, Lamont listened to the talents of Run-D.M.C., The Cold Crush Brothers, and Big Daddy Kane. He learned to rhyme in the park near his house at 104th West 139th Street where he would spend hours trading rhymes with friends to pass the time. While attending Julia Richmond High School he was given the alias Big L to spite his childhood nickname, Little Lamont. L described his lyrical growth, "I started writing rhymes in 1990 and was in a group called Three The Hard Way, but they wasn't serious so I went solo. Then I started winning rap contests and battling everybody in my 'hood and roastin' em."
On the evening of February 15, 1999, Big L was shot multiple times in the head and chest and killed near his Harlem home. Early indications led many to believe that Coleman was killed because of a debt owed by his older brother, Leroy Phinazee, who was in jail at the time and was therefore inaccessible. It has also been speculated that the murderer mistook Lamont for his brother on the night he was shot. Some time after his release from prison in 2002, Leroy Phinazee was murdered on the same street as his brother after attempting to find out who had shot him.
Big L exemplifies the gritty, punchline heavy battle raps mastered by his mentor, Lord Finesse. The recent trend of New York rappers aiming to “Bring New York Back” (in particular Papoose) with flurries of mixtapes and freestyles, seem to follow in the blueprint that Big L left. Big L is the logical progression of Lord Finesse’s style into the early and late Nineties. As a part of the legendary D.I.T.C. crew, Big L seemed poised to conquer mainstream rap, as rumors of Roc-a-fella signings whirled about before his tragic murder in 1999.
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A Tribute to Big L Saturday, 24 May 2008
Lamont Coleman (May 30, 1974 – February 15, 1999), better known by his stage name Big L, was an American rapper. Big L was born, raised,...
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