Arguably one of the fiercest representatives of Harlem, 139th and Lenox's Big L still lives on as one of The Danger Zone's most talked about. He had a series of underground hits that were his underlying vehicle to the tip of mainstream stardom; some of which include "Da Graveyard" and "Ebonics."
Before he could move further than his role in DITC (Diggin' in the Crates), L was shot right around the corner from his house on the evening of February 15, 1999.
The era of Mase has passed and, taking into consideration his senseless behavior, will probably be gone forever. How do you go from Harlem World to Harlem's Fool? How do you hold down the 'hood, then turn around and shit on the people that believed in you? How do you represent as one of Harlem's icons and turn around and disrespect? I'm sure no one really cares at the moment, but for those who do, they're all saying the same thing: Mase has lost his way, and ALL credibility. They say he left because he was afraid of being the next victim on the other side of the glock, but regardless of the situation, there's other ways to handle fright.
Now the Dipset "movement" has followedâ€"though not nearly as successfully (with the exception of Cam'ron). They're hot in the streets, but that's all that stands for them. Besides that, Harlem is dry. A piece of trash blowing in the wind. A puddle of piss in the back of the 2 train. The Heights with no haze. Hip-hop with no Kool Herc or Flash.
So, where would Harlem be had Big L still been here? I believe, looking at the heavy swagger in his lyrics that Harlem would be doing much better at this moment in time. With all the garbage Harlem is putting out, it's apparent that it takes a leader in order for others to step their game up.
Immortal Technique=Harlem
big Ell was dope though, and like i've said b4, i'd rather hear 3-6 mafia acapella than a dipdet song. fuck em, peace
this is some bullshit B. Just coz a nigga dead, he could have made a heavy impact. When L was alive noone gave shit about dude, He supposedly helped Mase get on as yall want to believe, but Mase got on his grind and got shit moving for him, lf L had that much impact then he would have been big way before his death. l hate you mufuckers who only recognise someone when they dead. Look what is happening to the real cats who can spit, they never sell, if L was here he would still be that good underground cat always on the verge of major stardom, just like papoose, nigga is never gonna be as big as he thinks he is about to be. Camron is doing his thing, Mase is not crazy, it`s guys like you who paint harlem`s finest as crazy. ls there any song that Mase done that you can say was wack. Nigga is the best thing to come out of Harlem, but you wanna down play him for playing on both sides of the fence, but can really break it down if given the mic. l bet your God Jay Z, thinks twice if he was to battle with Mase, He knows that boy is pure murda and everybody knows that Mase is not one cat to fuck with. yall can say whatever you want, but if you was to meet him one on one, yall be running coz we all know what son is about, not what yall cats try to put in them internet kids heads thinking they kno the streets because of what they see on TV and say on these blogs. You think l`m sweet, taste me and see how much you really want.
l pop a lot of shit coz l can back it up, see thats the difference.
huh? Mase is about shiny suits and dance move, fuck r u talkin about? b4 L died he was being courted be Rocafella and everyother major hiphop record label at the time so i doubt he would have remained underground. Lifestylez of the rich and shameless, one of my top 10 hiphop albums of all time.
Ask beavis i get nothin but head...classic isht.
Big L was the shit
Jigga still is the shit
Dipset sould chance their name to the Dipshits or Where all homos... Yeah that warks for them. CAM your a bitch and thats from the heart
Big L was the shit
Jigga still is the shit
Dipset sould chance their name to the Dipshits or Where all homos... Yeah that works for them. CAM your a bitch and thats from the heart
I cant front cam been in the game for A WHILE now and can spit when you LISTEN TO THE WORDPLAY,dem cats iz gettin paper so u cant hate BUT harlem iz following the path of every other borough in now y...which iz that murda murda talk...
No one cared about him while he was alive?
You must be talking about herbs such as yourself.
All the nasty posthumous comments can now be made.
Asking what impact he would've had is just futile speculation. Knowing how fickle the game is can you honestly say what impact Papoose is gonna have if he's gone tomorrow?
Big L was a top-notch lyricist who got oustd before his impact could be properly felt. All those hip-hop cunnilinguists (Ma$e included) that run around saying they ghost-wrote for him are just capitalizing on his reputation as maybe one of the greatest of all time.
Funny how BIG and Big L died at 24, Tupac died at 25.
I agree with most of the what that nucca said.
It does seem like we really start paying attention to a mothafucka once he is dead or got shot or some dumb shit. I mean we have seen it enough times this year with Proof, Obie Trice, and Beanie Sigel alone. I say if you don't talk about them before they get shot don't make it seem like they are some kind of king of kings afterwards. Let us know what happened and keep it movin'. This is no disrespect to the artists, but more of the media. The shit people would do or say to make a story.
Which leads me to Mase. Mase is just trying to find his way like any other nigga this is not as big as people want to make it. All of us has a friend or family member who was doing something they didn't like found God and after a period of time went back to doing the same shit. Mase is confused right now, but he will eventually find his way. If he hadn't "sold his soul to the devil" as some of yall like to say this shit wouldn't even be talked about.
I didn't really listen to Big L so I can't comment on his talent, but I will take yall word for it.
Well said J-money. The media is the reason that we glorify DMX's coke escapades and his struggles with spirituality, yet we find Mase's back and forth movement as a pastor/gangsta repugnant, repugnant I say! LOL
Entertainers are full of shit but I expect that because I see pieces of my in each of them.
AYO J-MONEY, U SISTER STILL GETTIN BRAINWASHED BY THOSE CAM SONGS? HAHA, I SEE HER OUTSIDE MY WINDOW RIGHT NOW, SHE WITH SUM NIGGAZ, I THINK THEY GOT SOMETHING FOR HER FACE AND IT AIN'T PROACTIVE. HAHAHAHAH!! NIGGAZ YOU'ZE A PUSSY, DO SUMTHIN, BITCH NIGGA, LETTIN HIS SIS GET FUCKED, U MUTHA MUST BE ASHAMED OF YOU.
Finally, Reckless is discussing what I have been saying for years...Harlem has'nt had a real MC since Big L. For all you Young Whipper-snappers new to this rap shit, Big L fathered all these Harlem cats, especially Mase and Cam. Lyrically, he was the reason niggas gave a fuck about Harlem. Listen to the "The Big Picture" (big L's last album) and then listen to any album put out by any Harlem cat and the current quality of music is not even close. Could Mase or Dipset even come up with a "Ebonics"? Since the greats died, no one ( with the exception of Jigga man) has taken the torch to take their bourough to the next level. The fact that Mase had the whole country saying "you know Harlem is back, who in the world got a problem with that?" should have told you the state of Harlem rap at the time. Not that I really give a fuck, I'm originally from Brooklyn, but can somebody bring real hiphop back to Harlem? Stand up for that.
@O.G.Loc
I don't know what the fuck you talking about, but you sound like the pussy. It's 8 o'clock in the morning and you on the computer e-beefing and shit. Nigga get a fuckin life and don't speak on my sister nigga you don't fuckin know me.
Thanks ODEMIC. I been waiting for a topic like this. SOHH RECKLESS has really had some good topics this week.
Dip Set is currently running this rap shyt. Bmore cats stay bumpin Dip Set all day and for good reason. Jimmy spits that truth and Cam spits that fire. If you a hater its obvious you aint in the street. Maybe yall should get one of the corny down south rappers that all sound alike album like D4L or Chamillionare or whoever. Big L would have probably been down with Dip Set or down a lot of work with them. That new Jim Jones mixtape Members of Byrdgame is defiantely on point.
that nucca:
Have you heard Welcome Back, Breathe Stretch Shake. Get the kcuf outta here with that. Dolphin head (Ma$e), been whack after the shiny suit era. He sounds slow as hell (and I don't mean his flow). JZ scared of Mase...Have you been on comicview lately. People would be running if they saw Mase cause he would be saying "God bless Jimmy". Gay unit Fag.
Yo Real Talk. Its a bad thing, But nobody would Be paying Heavy attention to Big L if he was still alive. Cuz He only recieved 5 mics and all the acclaim When he died... Its a damn shame, when artist Die they end up being praised as the best... and end up selling more records than they did when they were alive...
Harlem is the weakest borough of New York,with the exception of BIG L(R.I.P)they all suck, DIPSET is the reason why hiphop is dying and they from Harlem, Fuck that moron called Cam'ron. ONE!
Harlem is not a borough...dumb ass
This n---- Tray_J cannot be from NYC if he refers Harlem as a boro.
HARLEM IS OVER CAMRON RAPS SOUND LIKE A KINDERGARTEN RHYME,MASE IS BEING SLAVED BY PUFF AFTER MASE MADE HIM MONEY, JUELZ HOLDS HARLEM RIGHT NOW LEAVE L ALONE LET HIM REST IN PEACE
Anybody who says Big L wasnt that sick wit it or he would still be underground knows absolutely nothin about real lyricists. Big L was probably one of the most versatile and straight up talented niggas out. Jigga, Mase, Loon, Dipset all of them have bitten L's swagger in some way. Its bigger than Harlem. Rap in general would be in a better place if he were alive cuz niggas woulda had to step it up and bring they A-Game.
"All I got for hoes is hard dick and bubblegum"
"Im so ahead of my time my parents havent met yet" (quotes from L that have been jacked)
Harlem is not out, all about timing soon we shall see another lammont colemon, he was a monster no 1 can touch hes punchlines
"knocked out so many teeth, even the toothfairy went bankrupt"
rip big l, greatest ever
"How come you can listen to my first album and tell where a lot of niggaz go thier whole style from" -Big L
If yall dont know Jay-Z got his flow from Big L. That nigga Hov was spitting that foo schnikins shyt before he met L. Jigga was also on Big L's first album. Big L to me is in the top 2 to ever do it. Its a toss up between him and Biggie. And honestly he changed the game with his first album. Niggaz wasnt spitting the way they spit now before that nigga first album came out. I fucks wit Dip set. And for those that dont yall probably cant understand the terminology in the lyrics so it sounds dumb to you. Yall aint from the city so yall cant relate. But Big L was one of the greatest. Go listen to that 8 minute freestyle he has with Jay-Z and see how he killed Hov on that shyt. Dont get me wrong Hov is the best thing doing it right now. But the game aint he same. He is the last of a dyin breed. Niggaz aint spitting the way they used to spit a decade ago...
"BIG L REST IN PEACE"
God damn shame he didn't get a chance to really really blow. This boy was sick. I got almost every song he ever did. His freestyles with Stretch Armstrong are legendary. He would destroy Cam or Mase. To bad he never got the shot. Another tragedy in hip hop.
First off Shout out to all my H.World comrades... Kurtis Blow Big L Immortal Cam Black Rob Mase Loon my nigga Stan Bravo who's from Harlem now doing his thing in Sydney Aus and anybody else I forgot to mention that did anything to rep Harlem.
HipHop music is dry period..it doesn't matter where you from.
As far as Big L ( God Bless the dead) goes..every body that listens to real rap music for lyrical content will tell you that boy was crazy...Harlem ain't dry..we're just taking a lil nap..but we'll be up real soon once my nigga Stan Bravo puts his album out in Oct..remember where you heard it first..
Harlem World till I leave this world...
Sun Tzu
I miss that Dude, Big L, man….
It sad that he caught a bad 1
Yeah Reckless everything you said about Mase I cosign.
Fuck Mase…and that coming from a nigga reppin the borough of East New York…lol….let me stop fucking around….I think the Godson just made a mistake…no big deal…keep that shit moving, son.
I've never heard Big L but I've heard of him. I've been listening to hip hop since 81 and I've seen a lot of mc's come and go. It always seems that some cats aren't really appreciated until their dead. Pac and Big are always mentioned but they were hot alive. All I know about L is he was underground and I didn't really know about him until The Source gave him 5 mics posthumously back in 99. I read some of his lyrics and they were hot but I've heard Nas, Jay-Z, some early Cam ron and Rakim. Them brothas were just as cold as he was. Some of them still are. I don't have dipset hate because I respect any brother that's hustling. Besides, some of their shit is hot. Point is, whose to know that L would have blown up if he were alive today. I've seen a few guys that were first album fire and the second wasn't shit.
Fuck Mase…and that coming from a nigga reppin the borough of East New York…lol…. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ YO WHAT PART OF THE EAST YOU FROM SON
A Boogie:
Without revealing to much near Liberty and Linwood.
By the way, England Represent I heard you say you are in BK ... sign on and let me know where you are going to be at today...no doubt.
Why are you Harlem dudes always downing and hating Mase? If it wasn't for him, Harlem wouldn't even be MENTIONED in the rap game period! Nationally, we wouldn't even know who Cam or Big L was...that family tree alone eliminates Juelz, Loon, Jimmy, Hell Rell, JR Writer, the rest of the dip gang, and even Nelly b/c Cudda Love is Nelly's manager. He really is the original Harlem Representer! No disrespect to Harlem, but the brother left to get his life right with God..."If you can't respect that your whole perspective is whack"...By the way, say what you want, but Mase is STILL better than anyone else from Harlem lyrically...Did anyone hear the 10 years of Hate mixtape????????? I'd say I'm from the A now too if my own hood was that hateful to me. Get down with the click or get found in a ditch. Period.
L Boogie:
I am not a Harlem Cat but for me Mase’s pure hypocrisy makes me say “Fuck Maseâ€.
AHHHH....NOW THATS THA SOHH RECKLESS THAT I KNOW...
THA SPINELESS, NON-WRITING, JAY DICKRIDING NIGGA THAT WE'VE ALL GROWN ACCUSTOMED TO.
We were long overdue for some DIPSET hating...THANKS
NOW ALL THA USUAL SUSPECTS CAN COME OUT AND RANT ABOUT HOW DUMB THA "DIPSHITS" ARE(VERY CLEVER BY THA WAY!)
Ya'll love to jock Killa and Jimmy but ya'll dont talk about what them niggaz do for tha community...
You say all they have is tha hood behind em...thats what you're supposed to have...Ya'll sellout ass niggaz wanna sell records for Becky and Steve, while tha DIPS are keepin it real and re-investing into tha community...Ya'll some suckaduck ass niggaz...GET A LIFE!
THA KING HAS SPOKEN!
R.I.P BIG L!
Gauranteed BIG L would be a DIPSET representa.
"DIPSET ALL MUTHAFUCKIN DAY!"
I ain't even read any post yet but i gotta say I have always held L in high esteem......I still bang this mixtape my DJ made for me from cuts he found here n there....
Anyone who knows me know i think Jay is mad tight...but on the 8...or was it 7 minute freestyle Big L made Jigga look like an ass when it came to competing flows!!
The man was legendary even before his death.....Like my man Premier did on the intro for Full Clip, i want one side to scream BIG L n the other side REST IN PEACE.....now let me read yall posts...
pamoja!!!
When and how did any of this happen?->"How do you hold down the 'hood, then turn around and shit on the people that believed in you? How do you represent as one of Harlem's icons and turn around and disrespect?"
I'd like a little more info please, because that just sounds like a baseless claim.
Same thing happened with 50...That's why he says "F the Hood, Fluck New York City"...He brought prominence to New York that demanded respect (11 mil sold) and he still got hated by crabs in a barrell. At the end of the day, a man is a man...Grown men have to make decisions that better themselves and you can't always worry about what the "hood" thinks. The "hood" mentality is why so many of us are still in the "hood"...I love my black people, but instead of embracing each other for who we are, we find ways to throw stones, tomatoes, and everything else at our public figures (rappers or not) like NO other race does...And if we don't respect the people that represent us in the media, when will we ever get the respect that we deserve day to day from people who aren't exposed to us any place but in the media?
BIG L WAS THE MOST TALENTED MUTHAFUKA COMMIN OUTTA HARLEM-GET THIS-BACK WHEN HE WAS ALIVE!! YES JAY-Z WAS TRYIN TO SIGN HIM-BUT REMEMBER HE KILLED IT BEFORE JAY WAS HOT-REMEMBER THE INFAMOUSE HOT 97 FREESTYLE????? NOW THAT HE DEAD PEOPLE GIVIN HIM LIGHT-DATS FINE CAUSE HE WAS GONNA GET HIS SHINE DEAD OR ALIVE REGARDLESS!! BUT NOW THAT HE GONE WHAT HARLEM DOIN'? -CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP...WIT A SODA AND SOME FRIES??? I TRUELY BELEIVE THAT IF JAE MILLZ, OR JR RYDER OR 40-SHOVEL FACE CAL DON'T BRING IT BACK OR EVEN CAM GO BACK TO HIS MIXTAPE SHIT THEN HARLEM IS TRUELY OVER!
WHAT YOU OFFERING/ PUT IT RIGHT IN THE OFFERING/ THEY TAKE IT ALL CASH CREDIT, SILVER DOWN TO PORCELLIN.
mase was raw back when he was in children of the corn. but honestly he is garbage now and an emabrassment to his old 24 hours to live self. also dipset killed him on "take em to church"
If big L was still alive he would be ridin with the dips. Imagine big l's flow over one of those great dipset beats. cam got alot of shit from big l and thats why he's lyrically one of the best out right now. you think it's nursery rhymes because your too stupid
BY THE WAY SOHH KING-IF BIG L WERE ALIVE THEN CAM, JIMMY, JUELZ, RELL, CAL AND ALL OF THEM WOULD BE FLAMBOYANT ENTERTAINMENT NIGGAZ NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND! BELEIVE ME!
-THE EMPORER HAS SPOKEN BITCH!
Anyone who knows me know i think Jay is mad tight...but on the 8...or was it 7 minute freestyle Big L made Jigga look like an ass when it came to competing flows!!
@ Big L
It was 7 and I co-sign but you know what I really notice is Jay trying to flow more on the second verse. Big L raised that bar baby! R.I.P Big L
@Nucca
ls there any song that Mase done that you can say was wack.
Man there are so many. Don't even need to explain which one's. Mase alway's was and alway's will be garbage as a artist. As far as his personal life I really don't care. I judge artist by thier talent not personal life.
BigUP2Bk
YOU CAN SAY HYPOCRACY, BUT I CAN SAY A NIGGA MADE A MISTAKE DURING SOME SERIOUS TIMES.MASE WAS AND PROBABLY IS STILL THE BEST LYRICIST FROM HARLEM NO HATE.THIS NIGGA HAD AN ORIGINAL FLOW THAT WAS SMOOTH AND NOT GANGSTA, IT WAS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR.AND HE BIRTHED LOON,FAB,EVEN 50 CENT WAS INFLUENCED BY MASE.
DUDE SIMPLY MADE THE WRONG DECISION, I JUST THINK HE SHOULD NOT HAVE COME BACK TALKIN THAT GANGSTA SHIT.AND IF YOU HATE MASE THEN YOU SHOULD HATE GAME TOO,THEY BOTH GOOD RAPPERS BUT ALL THEY WORK IS FABRICATED LIKE A SCI-FI MOVIE.BUT THEY GOOD TO LISTEN TO.
MASE IS A BEAST AND HE SPITS CLEVER SHIT.
Harlem would be somethin if big L was still here. It's kinda too bad that harlem has a bunch of faggots reppin from there like dipset.
The only chance for harlem is probably immortal tec. That hombre can spit! For real!!
Rick Ross - 183,000 Units to finish Numero Uno
DMX - Sales Dip of 63% To fall to numero Nueve(nine)
Cassy - 100,000 Units to Finish Numero Cuatro(four)
This has been your Billboard charts update brought to you by BigCav
Fuck Harlem,Big L is the real King of New York.R.I.P.
K-Rob:
It is always good to see you in the building…
And as always you points are strong….But I am still on some Fuck Mase type shit. I mean the religious shit I supported him on…I believed the nigga and actually admired his willingness to commit himself to a higher calling.
When came back and made that bubble gum Album with puff but was still talking about so-called “worldly tings†I supported him and told other niggas to shut the fuck up about him because I though overall his Joint was basically Bubble gum and niggas were just being assholes complaining.
Once he attempted to sign with G-Unit…I basically said fuck him. I said fuck him because I knew the religious rhetoric he was kicking was all bullshit. He saw 50 making all kinds of niggas platinum selling artists so he compromised and went with G-Unit.
Now, if he would have signed with the Unit and still was on the same vibe I could of accepted that but heard him on a couple of mix tapes and that was when I just said fuck him.
I can’t respect a nigga false reppin God. Game may have false repped a Gang but he didn’t false rep God….that’s the difference between the 2.
Now to me, Mase is a much more fucked up nigga in my eyes.
Game, I am convinced does a lot of shit to keep his name out there which is kind of smart. I think Game loves for niggas to talk about him whether its good or Bad. If I was a G-Unit nigga I would never mention his name. I think the best thing G-Unit could do is squashed the beef with Game because if they did that it narrow his lane.
Many niggas are going to buy Game’s joint because they hate 50 and not that they really love Game …but once again because they really hate 50 and they want him defeated and they don’t care by who…
Now before U “Game†niggas start bitching and crying…I do think that Game is nice. One Blood when the volume is loud is a banger…but at least 25 % of his sales will be from the fuck 50 crowd because they want to see them G-Unit niggas loose and loose big.
Anyway, let me get back to my original point…Fuck Mase…I talk a lot shit…but I don’t fuck around when it comes to God and I can’t support a nigga who is on that Vibe.
I think even 50 knows that Mase is full of shit. 50 has money coming out of his fuckin ears…he could of brokered a deal with Puff if he really wanted Mase but he probably found out how that nigga got chased out of Harlem and said Fuck Mase.
K-Rob…U R my dude but I stand by what I said and what Reckless said indirectly, which is, Fuck Mase! K-Rob, that nigga ain’t the kind of nigga 50 ran with in Queens…Mase is the kind of nigga that will get everyone wet up….if I haven’t said it before … I am going to say it now, Fuck Mase!
Big L sucks.All that NYC shit sucks.I'm on my down south shit.
We got Reggie Bush!!!!!!!!!
What up Suspects
Man Big L was da truth, he really did make Hov step up on dat second verse, damn shame nigga died so early.
Rap game is fucked man, Biggie, Pac, Pun, Big L, what da fuck? Theres only a select few left who still rap the right way, yall know what I mean, that actually make sens and say something.
Any moron who think Big L would roll with a crew that jumps from Flip to Game, Doggie doggie, No Homo, Ya dig ya dig, is mad fucking twisted.
Yall can honestly picture L dressed up like da Pepto Bismol spokesperson rhymin about Scooby Snacks and beefin about another nigga's footwear? Nah, cuz dats straight homo.
Just let the man rest in peace and enjoy his work, cuz its some real shit for sure.
Ya dig, Ya dig, lol.
Peace
And Mase is a bith, keep yo punk ass out of town, Fuck Mase
Peace 2 my man, Blaze:
Yeah Big L was that next kid...man I miss that dude!
Word up Kid
2 of the ILLEST MCs 2 come outta Harlem, period.
Big L
Immortal Technique
If L was still here, Dipset would'nt even be an afterthought. Cam and Mase would be signed 2 Big L's label, plus Mase need his ass beat 4 saying that he wrote Big L's rhymes.
Listen 2 The Big Picture and tell me if U think Mase wrote that shit