"Beneath the hunger, the anger, and the near-frantic aggression was the unshakeable confidence of the kind of person who slides on sunglasses while strolling away from an explosion. L had a preternatural talent, his slick, smarmy flow sluicing over beats, each verse a knotted rope of multisyllabic rhyme schemes and disturbingly clever punchlines. He was a heat-seeking missile, a force that left craters in freestyle sessions and struck fear in other rappers' hearts."
"Born Lamont Coleman in 1974, the young Harlem MC rose quickly and burned bright. He joined Diggin' in the Crates in 1991 as a teenager, signed with Columbia in '93, and released his first album, Lifestyles Ov Da Poor and Dangerous, to critical acclaim in 1995. L was on the cusp of becoming New York rap royalty, getting cosigns from and trading verses with Jay-Z, touring Europe with O.C., and earning the adoration of nearly every DJ, radio personality, and culture carrier in the city."
The fourth posthumous release from Big L has been in the works but feels hollow and cobbled together. Big L's voice carried unshakeable confidence beneath hunger, anger, and near-frantic aggression. His slick, smarmy flow used multisyllabic rhyme schemes and clever punchlines that dominated freestyles and intimidated other rappers. Nas said he was scared to death when he heard Big L on tape. Born Lamont Coleman in 1974, Big L joined Diggin' in the Crates in 1991, signed with Columbia in 1993, and released Lifestyles Ov Da Poor and Dangerous to critical acclaim in 1995. He began work on a second album, started Flamboyant Entertainment, and was killed in a 1999 drive-by at age 24.
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