The way I remember it, The Big L hype online didnt start until after the Em shout out on GRODT

[Drew Wonder]

The Em shoutout definitely had an impact but L was getting some love after the Big Picture dropped. First time I heard about Big L was when I was in middle school in 2001. This dude on my bus kept talking about how L was the GOAT and better than Eminem, and he kept quoting the “What’s the rap game without L....that’s like China without rice” Bars from the Big Picture intro.

 

[Juggalo Fred]

the 2pac remix did it


he was known in horrorcore circles for Devils Son tho

 

[LevelUp]

 

[Artificial Intelligence]

There was big l commercials on bet back in the day for the big picture…that’s where I got word from.. then I heard the jayz freestyle

 

[The Devil's Advocate]

lol this thread isnt even about big l, its really about eminem

Facts... The Big Picture came out in 2000 and he's saying nobody hyped him until 3 years later

Maybe not white boys on the internet, but everybody knew by 2003 who he was... This was the mixtape era.

Then again... If you wasn't in the right areas, you didn't even get mixtapes until datpiff came out

 

[WIA20XX]

I had a lifestyles of the poor and dangerous promo t-shirt in 1994. My girl at the time let her (fat and ugly) sister wear it, and I never wanted to touch it again. Memories....(Randomly heard a white boy podcast on niche income business play Street Struck and the host was gushing about Big L...)

The Yes You May remix and Devil's Son was what what we was rocking then. That said, he was always a spicier Lord Finesse to me. I liked L, but in 1994 everybody from the East Coast was a punchline gangsta.

He put out MVP around the same as Biggie's One More Chance Remix. Everyone djing had both records, but you'd never even hear a blend, much less anyone give Lamont some airtime. That's how little people cared.

Like Big L was for backpackers in 94. This was when Black Moon and Wu Tang was relatively "mainstream". So for him to be about as popular as King Just or Mic Geronimo but was gonna take over like Biggie and Jay? Laughable.

Ebonics followed which was just another gimmick record.

Now that I'm hearing Eminem liked him, explains everything.

Someone still needs to explain how Dilla became the producer equivalent of Tupac, but I digress.

 

[PHamm]

I was wondering why the online nerds started hyping Big L all of a sudden. I didn't even know Eminem shouted him out. Makes total sense.

And I say this as someone who listened and enjoy Ls music before the white boy shouted him out

 

[Street Knowledge]

Lifestyles sounds dusty as fukk today. It sounded dusty in 1998

 

[DaveyDave]

Em and 50 got a lot of kids, especially white kids into Hip Hop so when they wanted to put on their “I’m so underground” hats they went to him first.

 

[Artificial Intelligence]

Lifestyles sounds dusty as fukk today. It sounded dusty in 1998

I’m more a fan of his freeestyles then songs..

 

[Crumple]

and I'm from Harlem so I remember the timeline.


1998: Ebonics is heavy in the underground and I'm like 'Damn L is so nice but aint no one really paying attention. Say word he might go to The Roc?"


1999: Big L is killed and I'm in the Army where u have pretty much every race all over USA. And the only ones who spoke about it were NYC heads. Not even the wiggers who loved Hip Hop spoke about Big L. Me and the NYC heads were like "He was gonna blow if he actually went to The Roc"


2000: Dj Premier does an interview where he says someone asked him who was "Big L" because thats who he shouts out on the intro of the song "Full Clip"/I'm Blasting "98 Freestyle" from The Big Picture out of my car as I pull into my driveway and my neighbor who is from Texas was like "who is that?"..I had to introduce him to Big L



2001: Camron shyts on Stan Spit and disrespects his mom. We remember Stan Spit for his verse on that Big L song and video "Hold It Down." "Hung out with you on mothers day because your mothers day" Cam - Dear Stan




2002: Paid In Full, Game Over documentary, Come Home With Me...Dipset mixtapes..Camron is the biggest Hip Hop rep for Harlem followed by Kay Slay. Big L is an afterthought.



2003: Em says he's a mixture of Pac Biggie sprinkled with some Big L...when I first heard that I was like "Oh shyt...Em is acknowledging Big L?" This was before those racist tapes so it really made Em look like the coolest whiteboy on the planet.



Now: 'Big L was gonna be this and Big L was gonna be that' all over the internet as if thats how everyone was talking like that before the Em shout out. But u see my thing is , "well how come u dont acknowledge Lord Finesse?"

Everyone said Big L was a new version of Lord Finesse when he first came out anyone familiar with Hip Hop immediatly remembers seeing the familiarity between L and Finesse so acknowledging L while ignoring Finesse stands out to me. And I've been fukking with Hip Hop messageboards since the year 2000 so I know what I'm talking about. The Big L hype didnt start till Em gave that shout out on GRODT

Okay.

When I first heard Big L around 96,97 with his singles and DITC features everyone from my block knew he was dope.

There was no talk of him around Jay. We didn't really check for Jay Z like that in Toronto.

Then when L got killed, we were all shocked. I bought that XXL issue with those blue pages dedicated to him. Not sure if it was The Source or XXL.

When Em mentioned him none of us cared.

When his voice was sampled in that Krs, Last Emp, De La Rocha C.I.A joint that was props - but I think he was still alive when they did that.

I never cared for what the internet said about L.

All the he killed Jay shyt.

Same arguments.

Big L was one of the greatest to ever touch the mic. Period.

 

[Crumple]

So many creepy comments by younger heads in here - I'm just gonna let you roll with your opinions and narratives.

It feels good to have seen hip hop, factually and forward from 1987 and onwards and I'm grateful for that.

 

[WIA20XX]

Big L has become a meme.