Big L vs. Police Brutality

1. Big L vs. Police Brutality Brian Sanz Productions

2. Big L Bio • Born May 30, 1974 in Harlem • Formally known as Lamont Coleman • Started spitting rhymes in 1990, but 1st appearance was in 1992 (“Yes You May(remix)”) • Joined Lord Finesse’s “Diggin’ in the Crates’ Crew” • Followed up with the founding of Children of the Corn (COTC) • This group included MC’s Killa Cam, Murda Mase, and Cam’s cousin Bloodshed. • Signed to Columbia Records in 1993 + releasing 1st single “Devil’s Son” • Released 1st solo album “Lifestyles ov da Poor & Dangerous” in March 1995 • Shot 9 times and died in his own neighborhood on February 15, 1999 (was said to be retaliation for something his brother did)

3. Fed Up With The Bullshit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxAQpwvqHQM I'm fed up with that bullshit (bullshit) I'm fed up with that bullshit (bullshit) I'm fed up with that bullshit (bullshit) I'm fed up (Aw, shit) [ VERSE 2 ] Whether it's the hot, warm, cool or cold season Pigs be fuckin with a nigga for no reason You're just gettin home from work And gotta get searched and treated like dirt by a fuckin jerk Niggas in the streets got tough luck First they get cuffed up Then get roughed up, and that's fucked up This every day, not every other week Listen when this brother speak Muthafuck turnin the other cheek Or you'll be layin in a pine box Bad enough they got .38s, now them clowns gettin nine glocks I'm not only fed up with the cops I'm only fed up with them punk-ass cab drivers who don't stop They don't care if it's snowin First they slow down, then they see your skin is brown, then they keep goin Cause I wasn't white, the cab took flight But I caught him at the light And put a bullet right through his windpipe I keep a tool with a full clip, the trigger I pull quick Cause I'm fed up with that bullshit [ VERSE 1 ] Yo, on the scene is the brother that's big, I'm not a little kid I'm a nig who don't dig a muthafuckin pig Cause to me they ain't nothin but harassers That misuse they badges to whip niggas' asses Then one day they slow rolled through the hood With the .38s cocked, 2 deep, up to no good They say that my skin was black so they attacked Threw me on the back and stuck a gat to my fuckin cap One murdered my man like it was okay For the life he ended he got suspended with no pay But if a man woulda took the cop life, he woulda got life And never again see the street lights, and that's trife Around my way they shot many teens And them cops better stop, or I'ma stop em, by any means The Big L won't hesitate to cold diss em And if you ask me, muthafuck the whole system There are too many young black brothers doin life bids Cause justice means 'just us white kids' So take heed to the rhymes I kick I'm about to flip, cause I'm fed up with that bullshit

4. FUWTBS Meaning • This is a cry out from Big L to all the police and government saying how cops are racist and unfair • He is saying how cops are pigs and just looking for ways to arrest black people • The cops look for any reason at all to beat up on blacks • He also states how there is only justice for white people

5. Rodney King • On march 3rd of 1991 Rodney King was pulled out of his white Hyundai by 4 traffic officers of the LAPD and brutally beaten. • Claimed King was aggressive and resisting and it was all in “self-defense” • King suffered a fractured skull and internal injuries as well

6. How Will I Make It Where I grew up it was a living hell Then I started to realize – I'm better off in a prison cell Now I can sleep, now I can eat Can't hit skins, but I wasn't hitting skins when I was in the street Aiiyyo I just can't take it And every day I ask myself, 'how will I make it?' [Chorus] [3rd Verse] Doing time was full of stress G, all the Fighting's and stabbings and men finding men sexy One tried to test me didn't find it humorous Beat him with a pillowcase filled with cans of tuna fish My time came to a cease; I'm back on the streets again I hope I don't get snatched by the beast again But it's getting crazy hectic Cause I'm broke, get up naked And can't get a job cause of my jail record Before you know it, I was robbing them same ducks I even started robbing homeless folks for they change cups My whole life was deserted Either I'ma go back to jail or get murdered, but do I deserve it? All I tried to do was live the one life that I got But it seems like I can't get a fair shot (word up) I just can't take it (uh-huh) And every day I ask myself, 'how will I make it?' [Chorus] [Big L] Word up man, it's real rough out here man In the ghetto, all you can wish for is a better tomorrow It ain't getting no better, it's only getting worse, word up... [Chorus] It seems like my life's been cursed Ever since I was a child, and how will I make it? I won't, that's how I walk around with a frown; I got no reason to smile And how will I make it? I won't, that's how Aiiyyo times was rough, I had to grow up foul And how will I make it? I won't, that's how I always knew that I'd end up doing time on the Isle And how will I make it? I won't, that's how [2nd Verse] Five years passed by, now I'm at the age of 15 No more fun and games, it's time to get cream (word up) Cause I'm about to burst, it's like my life was cursed I went to church, prayed everyday And it still got worse Soon I ran into a couple of guns Started stalking the streets, slate robbing suckers for funds (give it up, give it up) Now everyday I creep with the heat Ain't nothing sweet, I rob for meat If I don't steal I don't eat Then I lost control and started going too far Robbed this brother named Umar Then got snatched by the blue car

7. HWIMI Meaning • This song is about Big L and his rough upbringing • It states how he never had a chance for a good life from the beginning • Because of his bad situation he was forced to rob to eat • Mentions how a prison cell is better than where he came from because he can sleep and eat

8. Cab Driver Beaten (1995) • A Pakistani cab driver named Saleem Osman rushed to the aid of another cab driver who was in an argument with a white truck driver • Osman was approached by 2 officers who yelled racial slurs at him and telling him to go back to his “own country” • When Osman complained, the officers attacked him, pushed him to the ground, and kicked him • Osman was arrested and charged with multiple offenses including assault on the officers who attacked him • While in jail the officers refused to give him his medication for his diabetes

9. Works Cited http://www.nychinatown.org/articles/asianwk950804.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2119943.stm http://www.rapartists.com/artists/bigl/biography