Return of the Devil's Son
Known for his witty, literary, lyrical style and for being near, but never quite at the center of commercial success, Big L appeared to be on the verge of a breakthrough in 1999. Mase and Cam'Ron, two of his partners in the early '90s group Children of the Corn, went on to MTV stardom, but Big L's 1995 Columbia debut, Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous, only earned limited critical attention. At the time of his death though, Big L's independently released single, "Ebonics," was receiving consistent airplay on the indie-centric radio mix shows hosted by WKCR's Bobbito Garcia and WNYU's DJ Eclipse. In July of 2000, his posthumous sophomore full length The Big Picture was released to critical raves and phenomenal sales. Both releases have gone on to scan over 731K units in the US alone! With other members of the influential Diggin' In The Crates collective, including rappers Fat Joe and O.C., and rapper-producer Diamond D, Big L had also begun working on a full-length album for Tommy Boy Records that was scheduled to be released in June. This upcoming release titled "Return of the Devil's Son" includes all unreleased material from Big L and will surely satisfy his dedicated fans desire for new music. Based on the success of his previous releases, Return Of The Devil's Son will see a return of fans to stores to pick up a crucial piece of music history.