Big L Part 2: Harlem’s Torchbearer — The Rise, The Streets & The Legend

Update: 2025-10-25

Description

In this episode of The Hip Hop Files, we pick up the story one year after the gunshots on 139th Street. Harlem isn’t silent — it’s still echoing Big L’s name. From the underground buzz of Lifestyle’s of the Poor and Dangerous, to Children of the Corn, the Flamboyant era, and his talks with Rockafella, this is the untold continuation of a legend who refused to be forgotten.

This episode dives deep into the true crime story behind his murder, the movement he built before it, and the legacy that would outlive him. Through the rise of Harlem hip hop, street tapes, and one of the sharpest pens in rap history — this is Big L, Part 2.