Lamont Coleman (May 30, 1974 – February 15, 1999), known professionally as Big L, was an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer.

He was eventually signed to Columbia Records, where, in 1995, he released his debut studio album, Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous.

Big L was noted for his use of wordplay, and writers at AllMusic, HipHopDX and The Source have praised him for his lyrical ability.

By age 12, Coleman became a big hip hop fan and started freestyling with other people in his neighborhood.

[8] He also founded a group known as Three the Hard Way in 1990, but it was quickly broken up due to a lack of enthusiasm among the members which consisted of Coleman, Doc Reem, and Rodney.

[8] In the summer of 1990, Coleman met Lord Finesse at an autograph session in a record shop on 125th Street.

"[16] In 1992, Coleman recorded various demos, some of which were featured on his debut album Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous.

[14] During this time, he won an amateur freestyle battle hosted by Nubian Productions which consisted of about 2,000 contestants.

[13] In 1991 He joined Lord Finesse's Bronx-based hip hop collective Diggin' in the Crates Crew (DITC) which consisted of Lord Finesse, Sun Kiss, Party Arty, D-Flow ,DJ Premier, Diamond D, O.C., Fat Joe, Buckwild, Showbiz and A.G.

[14] Coleman founded the Harlem rap group Children of the Corn (COC) with Killa Cam (Cam'ron), Murda Mase (Ma$e), legendary producer Six Figga Digga, Big Twan, Trooper J, Mike Boogie, Buddah Bless, MC Terra, Bloodshed (Blood Debiasi) and Herb McGruff in 1993.

[33] The song, based on African-American Vernacular English, was called one of the top five independent singles of the year by The Source.

Following the release of "Ebonics", Big L caught the eye of Damon Dash, the CEO of Roc-A-Fella Records.

[34][35] On February 8, 1999, Coleman, Herb McGruff, C-Town, & Stan Spit started the process to sign with Roc-A-Fella as a group called "The Wolfpack".

[39] "It's a good possibility it was retaliation for something Big L's brother did, or Woodley believed he had done," said a spokesperson for the New York City Police Department.

[45][46] In 2017, Lou Black, Gerard Woodley's cousin, published Ethylene: The Rise and Fall of The 139th St. NFL Crew.

The book details Black's first hand interactions with the NFL crew and Big L. In the book, Black claims Leroy "Big Lee" Phinazee, Coleman's eldest half-brother and leader of the NFL crew, violated his probation when he was found to be in possession of an illegal weapon and was sentenced to prison.

According to Black, while in prison, Phinazee met and contracted a hitman from Brooklyn to murder three members of the NFL gang including Woodley.

[48] The tracks "Get Yours", "Way of Life", and "Shyheim's Manchild" b/w "Furious Anger" were released as singles in 1999 for DITC's self-titled album (2000) on Tommy Boy Records.

[55] Issued by Rich King on Flamboyant Entertainment, it contained previously unreleased and rare tracks.

[58] Henry Adaso, a music journalist for About.com, called him the 23rd-best MC of 1987 to 2007, claiming "[he was] one of the most auspicious storytellers in hip hop history.

[65] Coleman is often credited in helping to create the horrorcore genre of hip hop with his 1992 song "Devil's Son.

For example, in the song "Street Struck," Coleman discusses the difficulties of growing up in the ghetto and describes the consequences of living a life of crime.

[citation needed] Idris Goodwin of The Boston Globe wrote that "[Big L had an] impressive command of the English language", with his song "Ebonics" being the best example of this.

DiBella of Allmusic stated Coleman was "a master of the lyrical stickup undressing his competition with kinetic metaphors and a brash comedic repertoire".

[68] On the review of The Big Picture, she adds, describing "the Harlem MC as a master of the punch line and a vicious storyteller with a razor blade-under-the-tongue flow.

"[26] Trent Fitzgerald of Allmusic said Coleman was "a lyrically ferocious MC with raps deadlier than a snakebite and mannerisms cooler than the uptown pimp he claimed to be on records.

[34] Released on August 29, 2009,[18] the first trailer detailed that Street Struck would contain interviews from his mother Gilda Terry; his brother Donald; childhood friends E-Cash, D.O.C., McGruff, and Stan Spit; artists Mysonne and Doug E. Fresh; producers Showbiz and Premier; and recording DJs Cipha Sounds and Peter Rosenberg.