Big L

Lamont Coleman, aka Big L, was a New York rapper famed among underground hip-hop fans for his freestyling.

Coleman was born in Harlem on May 30th 1974. At the age of 12 he started getting into hip-hop, freestyling with other fans in his neighbourhood. A couple of iterations of an early group failed to stick, but in the early '90s Coleman, now known as Big L, recorded several demos (a few of which later landed on his debut album) and founded Children of the Corn with Killa Cam (Cam'ron), Murda Mase (Ma$e), Bloodshed and McGruff.

In 1995, Coleman made his solo debut proper with 'Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous', landing underground hits with 'No Endz, No Skinz', 'Street Struck' and 'Da Graveyard'. His biggest hit, however, came in the form of 'Ebonics', released through his own label Flamboyant in 1998. During that period he joined the group DITC (Diggin' in the Crates) and featured on their single 'Dignified Soldiers'.

On February 15th 1999, Coleman's life was cut short when he was killed in a drive-by shooting a few blocks from his home.