Here's a little story...

TI is getting out of prison pretty soon. I'll admit, his story really intrigues me, & I just had a somewhat random thought. When his trial began, all the talk was about how he was a snitch, & a punk, & he must've cooperated with the police & the feds to get his sentenced reduced, blah blah. Never, not once, ever, did I hear anybody give him propers for having the balls to live out his lyrics. He had every intention of buying guns & bulletproof armor & silencers for the sake of going to war, with revenge on his mind. C'mon, that's gangsta! Granted, he never got the chance to carry-out his plan(s), but that was because his bodyguard was the snitch. He didn't go to jail behind riding around with a pistol just because, or getting caught with a misdemeanor amount of drugs; dude was getting ready to go out in a blaze of glory, word to Bishop. Not that I hand out kudos for ignorance, but if I were to do so, I'd call Cliff to the front of the line. Unlike 50 Cent & Tupac, who's street credit card was swiped in the victim lane, TI just happened to get infiltrated before he could make someone else the victim. Maybe he'll give us a song about it when he gets out. We know how much Hip Hop loves a rehabilitated convict with a story to tell...


Rappers going to jail is nothing new. But, when they go to jail for real shit, that makes all the difference in a career. Sometimes, it even destroys said career, & the artist's life in the process.


Almost 10 years back, I rapped with a dude named Regino, in a group called 'Tha Most'*. We did a little damage out here, hooked up with some cats called 'Kali's Finest'*, who were running around the L.A. underground gangsta rap circuit turning a few heads here & there. They had a guy in their ("our") clique, named Big Lurch*. Dude was a Texas nigga, pre-chopped & screwed & syruped-up Dirty South type cat who had a buzz rapping with a NoCal group called 'RBL Posse'*. KF Klik's studio was located in the heart of the Van Ness Gang's territory, so the majority of cats who came in & out were more or less Bloods, with Lurch being no exception. In fact, it was only a couple of us who didn't at least covertly claim a Blood affiliation. Not that we were Crips either, we just weren't Bloods. But, it was cool though, because it was about the music, & dudes had love for one another, like any crew should.


The big homies Big Gee & Wunder (Kali's Finest) were putting the final touches on their second LP around this time, so their was a lot of collaboration going on between the whole squadron. Regino & myself were slated to do a song with the homie Big Lurch, but between work, kids & police trying to shut down their side hustle *wink wink*, the song never emerged. I wish it had though. One day, I went over to the studio to cop some medication, & in the backyard, going at it like two wolverines, were Big Lurch & the unofficial third member of Tha Most, K-Borne. Lurch was getting served up, bolo's to the nose & jawbones, but that didn't stop him from squabbling. The fight actually stopped when K-Borne took a step back & looked puzzled at Lurch, who was yelling & screaming like a man possessed. K walked back inside, seemingly disgusted with the whole situation, rather than like a man who just beat the monkey piss out of another dude in front of a small crowd. I broke out to drop off my kids, & returned awhile later to find out what was up with the turmoil.


"Grands! You ain't know that nigga be gettin' wet, dog?!"


"Nah. Word?"


I'd always noticed that Lurch was always in his own world, but he never bothered anybody. The times I chilled with him, clowning, sipping some drank or standing in the driveway while I smoked my Newport, he was always a mellow guy. I'm pretty good with my radar, & obviously he flew right under it. After this fight though, I found out that he was indeed a sherm head, & had no problems letting niggas know. All of us blazed, some of us-especially me-were admitted alcoholics, a few dudes stayed off the X pills, but this dude smoked sherm (pcp, angel dust, water) like it was trendy. I'd heard mad stories about sherm stick smokers, thanks to Jay Felony*, various relatives, & of course, from watching 'Cops' since it's inception, but he didn't seem one bit like the type to flip a car over, naked & sweaty [||], while fighting off 6 police officers.


Once Kali's Finest started having personal problems & decided to go their separate ways, the entire crew followed suit. Everybody branched off to do whatever it is that men do once they've given up on a dream deferred. In hindsight, some of the most fun I've had in my life was during the time we were recording, smoking, drinking, playing PS2, doing shows, etc. I really felt like somebody, & even got stopped ot in the city a few times because of a performance the night before. Once in NoHo (North Hollywood), we even signed autographs for some little kids, & shared some positivity with them.


Time passes. One day, there was a rumor floating around the neighborhood that some dude ate his girlfriend. Literally. As per hood gossip, nobody had names or specifics, but they had the general locale of the event & an overview of what happened. & that was basically the extent of the information I'd got; some nigga ate his girlfriend. In a bad way. Supposedly, he was caught walking down Broadway, covered in blood when the police stopped & arrested him. Living in South L.A., you get used to hearing stories about people found dead or getting killed in bizarre ways. This story, however, was a tad more eerie than some anonymous gangster getting set on fire on front of his baby mom's house. Plus, when a rumor hits the neighborhood so intensely, from various sources, than there's enivetably some truth to it. Eventually, the buzz died down, & it was just another urban legend, about a crazy cannibal nigga who may or may not still be roaming the streets, in search of the next nigga to chomp on. Random folks that I knew, who don't live anywhere near me had even caught wind of the story, & knowing I'd lived on this side of Crenshaw, they'd ask me if I knew or heard anything about it. Yet & still, no one ever had a name.


A couple years pass. One night, I'm watching 'Dateline' or 'Newsline' or something to that effect. They preempt a story about a neighborhood that looks vaguely familiar, & the story of a man who killed his friend's girlfriend while he was high on PCP. Commercial break. At this time, I was still smoking weed & drinking like I hated my liver, so, being faded, I was drawn into the premise. When the show came back on, the story went something like this:


Antron Singleton, living in South Los Angeles, had allowed his friend & his friend's girlfriend, Tynesha Ysais, to come live with them during a rough patch. One morning, the friend left the residence & left Ysais at the apartment with Singleton. Reportedly, Antron was high off of PCP, & confronted the young lady in an aggressive manner. She rebuffed him & the situation escalated. What happened next was unclear, but according to the man, he was high, & the young lady was wearing a t-shirt with the 'Tasmainian Devil' on it. The man also said that the cartoon character attempted to attack him & he defended himself by stabbing it. In a strange turn of events, the man admitted that he then began trying to eat the character after he assumed it was dead. Afterwards, he went outside & that's all he remembered until waking up in police custody. The police reported receiving a call from a neighbor, hearing a violent scuffle, & when they arrived, they found a man staggering down the street confused, covered in blood, dazed & hallucinating.


Medical records showed that Antron had undigested human flesh in his stomach.


At the end of the report, they showed the man's face. I jumped up & grabbed my cell.


"Hello?"


"Nigga! That WAS Lurch!!"


"Daaaamn..."


Regino had called me awhile back about the story when he'd first heard about it, & he had heard that it was Big Lurch, but the problem was that no one had seen him in quite some time, so he & I dismissed it. Dude was a little off, but hey, who's not? But that off? Who'da thunkitt? We both watched the remainder of the show in silence, then got off the phone.


That was one of the weirdest moments in my memories.


At the end of the program, Lurch, sitting pathetically bounded by shackles & behind 3 inch thick bulletproof glass, told the viewers that he was sorry for what he'd done. He added that they should stay away from drugs at all costs. He finally got the fame he had been searching for. Too bad it came this way. He received life in prison after being found guilty on all charges.


With all the misogynistic, drug addled gang bangers who live their lives by the sinister soundtrack that some rap music provides, one can only wonder how successful Lurch would be if he put out an album based around that unfortunate circumstance. Sadly, he'd probably do pretty well. That's street cred for your ass.
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*-Google if you're that curious