Lamont Coleman, otherwise known as the late lyricist Big L, was an American rapper that was born and raised on 139th Avenue in Harlem, New York. He was a lifelong fan of hip-hop starting rapping at the age of 12 and reaching the pinnacle of his career becoming the CEO of his own entertainment label, Flamboyant Ent., before tragically being gunned down in a drive-by shooting in his own hometown in February of 1999 putting an end to a blossoming career and a talented artist. In his music, Big L used dynamic rhyme schemes and catchy metaphors to express his emotions, and to express his thoughts on how and what things are going on around him in his neighborhood and in his life. In this particular track, Lifestylez ov da Poor and Dangerous, Big L raps the song as if he were one of the ruthless, poor and dangerous individuals that he perceives to exist in his neighborhood, discussing robberies, assaults, and other merciless and cold-blooded crimes that exhibit the actual kinds of crimes that go on in his neighborhood and other crime ridden communities.This song dives into the hardships of living in impoverished, crime ridden neighborhoods with low sense of community and shows that by strengthening our programs we can help to influence a change in these neighborhoods, the people within those communities, and the youth that will grow up there.