Discovering The Classics: Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous Edition

Discovering The Classics: Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous Edition

Let me be frank: Big L is kind of a dick. I mean, I'm no stranger to hardcore gangsta rap, so I knew what to expect, but damn. Just look at some of the gems of fuckfacery that can be found on this album:

"They wanna know why I'm so fly
A girl asked me for a ring and I put one around her whole eye."

"I be placin' snitches inside lakes and ditches
and if I catch AIDS then I'ma start rapin' bitches."

"They said a real man won't hit a girl
well I ain't real 'cuz I beat bitches up."

"The Big L be lighin' niggas like incense
gettin' men lynched to win tits
I'm killin' infants with ten cents"

"One day we [he and his friend] stuck a dice game on the Ave
and split the cash, then I murdered his ass
and took his half."

What an unimaginable bastard! Luckily, he later offers this accurate self-assessment:

"Yo I admit I admit I'm a sucka, a lowdown, dirty, sneaky, double-crossing, conniving motherfucka."

Joking aside, I know that these lyrics aren't to be taken literally. They're way too far out and macabre on a nearly comic level. But I almost find myself wondering what could've been. Big L is a technically gifted rapper, but on this album that skill is largely spent coming up with clever lines for subject matter that has about as much depth (or less) as what you're average 15-year old wannabe rapper could muster; stringing together phrases and slang just because they sound cool together (the entire album can be summed up in four words: "I will kill you"; or maybe six: "I am capable of killing you"). Such talent wasted; like a highly trained fine artist dedicating himself to furry art.

It's not that I wanted L to go the conscious route (which he actually does on the "Street Struck", whose placement on this album is perplexing, it being a song warning kids about the dangers of romanticizing street life, surrounded by songs that romanticize street life), I just think that L could've covered his "poor and dangerous" lifestyle more interestingly. Even the mighty Rakim's lyrics can be reduced to just constant boasting, but he somehow makes his boasting interesting to listen to, whereas L's killa killa shit can get boring at times. Still, I have to admit that I enjoy this album thoroughly when I'm in the mood for it, even if it does require I turn my brain off beforehand. I have the feeling that had Big L not been killed, Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous wouldn't have been his best (and sole completed) album by far.

This song is classic, though.



"Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous"