Not tryna turn this site into a big memorial wall- what with the Group Therapy post from the other day and the B.I.G. post from last week and whatnot. However, this weekend marks what woulda been the 36th birthday of another great MC who lost his life at age 24.
Unlike some of the more prominent artists who’ve passed, Harlem, NY’s Big L tends to be remembered as the big “what if”. As a member of the producer/MC crew Diggin’ In The Crates (along with Showbiz & AG, Diamond D, Fat Joe, O.C., Buckwild, and the man who discovered him, Lord Finesse), L always had a strong underground following just as all the other members did. He was respected as a lyricist, but he never got the recognition that a lot of his listeners (including myself) felt he deserved. That seemed like it was about to change in early-1999, when he had an independent single buzzing, and was close to signing with Roc-A-Fella Records. Then, on February 15 of that year, he was killed right up the block from his house.
The first time I heard L, it was in late-’92 on a track called “Represent” from the Show/AG album Runaway Slave. It was one of my favorite albums at the time (also the first I ever bought on CD), and even though I didn’t know who he was, his appearance stood out. Around the same time, I also heard him on a Finesse joint called “Yes You May”. His flow was similar to Finesse’s, almost to the point of mimickry, but the lyrics themselves were on some instant classic shit. Rhymes like “I only roll with originators/ Chicks stick to my dick like magnets on refrigerators” caught me right off-top. From there, I knew who he was and who he rolled with- and most importantly, I knew he was nice.
By the time he finally dropped his album in ’95, Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous, I was puttin’ other people up on L. Now as wild as it may seem, seein’ as how I was an fan of L and all, and because it’s almost felonious to say this… I actually wasn’t crazy about that album. I didn’t hate it, but I wasn’t as enthralled by it as I expected. My issue wasn’t anything to do with him, though. As many quality beats as Finesse, Showbiz, and Buckwild were doin’ at that time, it seemed that they were givin’ them to everybody but L. Not that they were Can-I-Bus levels of bad, but a good half of ‘em were just ehh to me, and it really took me out of the album. Strange, I know… but that’s the way it goes.
That said, the tracks I did rock with were way strong, as L still dropped some of the best quotables ever in life. Creative threats? “A Tec-9 is my utensil/ Fillin’ niggas with so much lead, they can use they dick for a pencil”. Comical ignorance? “Every minute, my style switches up/ You say a real man won’t hit a girl- well I ain’t real cause I beat bitches up!”. Witty shit-talkin’? “Raps on tracks I recite well/ Everybody wanna be like Mike, but Mike wanna be like L”. He was still belligerent as ever, still as on-point as he was on “Represent”. Despite feeling that the album was just aight, my opinion of L himself didn’t change.
For the next few years after that, I still made it a point to hear L on any track he appeared on. Whether it was on a mixtape, D.I.T.C.’s independently-released singles, or his tracks with Children of the Corn (which also consisted of Mase & Cam’ron), he never slipped. He was one of those who I felt should’ve been doin’ his thing as much as anyone else out there, especially when he dropped the “Ebonics” single in late-’98.
But as soon as “Ebonics” started taking off, L was killed. A few months later, it was revealed that he was a matter of days away from signing with Roc. In the years that followed, I continued listening to L through the posthumous releases, including the Big Picture album. I also found it funny running into the same people I couldn’t put on to L for shit when he was alive, bandwagonning the fukk out of him after he died. Even today, I feel like a lot of people overrate him to compensate for how much they ignored him when he was here, but it’s good that he’s gotten higher recognition in his passing. He was great when he was here, and spent a number of years being vastly underrated.
Who knows what the course of Big L’s career would’ve been, but it’s always interesting to wonder. Most people I’ve had this convo with felt he probably wouldn’t have broken through on the mainstream level, because of his rep as an underground/street level MC. But as proven by many others (including some of L’s former associates like Fat Joe, Mase, Cam, and Jay-Z), it may have been more likely than they think. Whichever way it coulda gone, L was still one of my faves during the ’90s, from day one to long after his last day.
Showbiz & AG feat. Big L, Deshawn E. Thunder, & Lord Finesse “Represent” (1992)
Lord Finesse feat. Big L “Yes You May” (Remix) (1992)
Big L Freestyle From Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito Show (1993)
“The Enemy” (w/ Fat Joe) (1997)
-D!
I wasn’t exposed to a lot of Big L, but when I finally did hear him, all I kept thinking was, “Wow…dude gets BUSY”. His potential for greatness can certainly be measured by the success of some of his peers…especially considering one or two of them, he may have been better than. As you said, a Big IF. Glad you posted some of his joints.
Yep… I mean, stranger shit’s happened. I sure as HELL didn’t call it for Fat Joe, and I didn’t really know about Jay doin’ it either back when he was makin’ records like ‘In My Lifetime’ and ‘Dead Presidents’. Not that it makes you a better artist, but I’ve always liked seein’ MCs I respected get that validation that says everybody everywhere’s fukkin’ with them now. L… who knows?
-D!
telling people what’s up, and making them listen too… this it how it should be done! One
‘Preciate it, bruh… be sure to keep checkin’!
-D!
Good shit my dude.. Big L was heavily underated
Very much so… he was like always the one who got his props from those in the know, but even then, he didn’t get mentioned with a lot of the others out there. Underrated for sure, which is funny, because I’ve seen a lot of people go overboard with it since he’s passed.
-D!