Big L

Born Lamont Coleman on May 30, 1974, rapper Big L belonged to Fat Joe's DITC crew. His solo debut arrived in 1995 with Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous, which yielded a string of underground successes such as "No Endz, No Skinz," "Street Struck," and "Da Graveyard." Big L's most recognized track, the single "Ebonics," appeared in the summer of 1998 on his independent Flamboyant label. At roughly the same moment he aligned with the Bronx-based hip-hop supergroup DITC (Diggin' in the Crates) and featured on its single "Dignified Soldiers." Big L was fatally shot on the evening of February 15, 1999, only blocks from his Harlem residence; he was 24 years old. Both the DITC album Worldwide and Big L's follow-up solo release, The Big Picture, surfaced in 2000.