| Big Lurch | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Antron Singleton |
| Also known as | Lurch, Big Lurch |
| Born | September 15, 1976 Fort Worth, Texas, United States |
| Origin | Dallas, Texas |
| Genres | Hip hop, gangsta rap |
| Occupations | Rapper Producer |
| Years active | 1990– |
| Labels | MCA, Black Market |
| Associated acts | Cosmic Slop Shop, Rick Rock, Luni Coleone, Too Short, Mac Dre, RBL Posse, C-Bo, E-40, Keak Da Sneak, Yukmouth, E-A-Ski, Mystikal |
| Website | www.myspace.com/3xlbiglurch |
Antron Singleton (born September 15, 1976), better known by his stage name Big Lurch, is an American rapper. He is serving a life sentence for murdering 21-year-old female roommate Tynisha Ysais and eating parts of her body while under the influence of PCP in April 2002.[1][2]
During his music career, Singleton worked with such Bay Area rappers as Luni Coleone, Too Short, Mac Dre, RBL Posse, C-Bo, E-40, Keak Da Sneak, Yukmouth, E-A-Ski and New Orleans-based rapper Mystikal, TQ, DJ U-Neek, Texas' Lil Keke, and Big Bone. He was also a member of the group Cosmic Slop Shop along with fellow members Doonie Baby and Rick Rock.
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Born in Dallas, Texas, Singleton grew up nearby in north Dallas, Texas. At 7 years old, he began writing poetry. He decided to pursue a career in rapping, and began performing in 1990. In his early rap years, Singleton rapped under the name G-Spade, but later changed his name to Big Lurch after earning that nickname from his peers.
In 2000, on September 16, one day after his 24 birthday, Singleton was driving his car when a drunk driver hit him resulting in his neck being broken. While in the hospital, he was heavily on medication, and while on medication he wrote one of his songs, Texas Boy, for his album, It's All Bad. After being released from the hospital, he had trouble walking and was still in pain, Singleton admitted, in Rhyme And Punishment, that he began using PCP to ease the pain.
On April 10, 2002, 25-year-old Singleton murdered Tynisha Ysais in her Los Angeles, California, apartment.[3] Her boyfriend Thomas Moore testified that he and Singleton spent the evening prior to the murder smoking PCP.
The victim was found in her apartment by a friend. Her chest had been torn open and a three-inch blade was found broken off in her shoulder blade. Tooth marks were found on her face and on her lungs, which had been torn from her chest. An eyewitness reported that, when Singleton was picked up by police, he was naked, covered in blood, standing in the middle of the street and screaming at the sky. A medical examination performed shortly after his capture found human flesh in his stomach that was not his own.[1]
On November 7, 2003, Singleton was sentenced to life in prison.[3] He had been convicted of murder and aggravated mayhem the previous June after pleading not guilty by reason of insanity at the time of the murder. The court ruled that his intoxication and claimed insanity were not satisfactory reasons for committing the crime, after a court-appointed psychiatrist had evaluated Singleton and reported that he had no reason to believe he was of unsound mind. Some evidence casts doubt on whether Big Lurch actually committed the murder, according to the 2011 documentary Rhyme and Punishment. Particularly, a bloody hand print on a scooter used to inflict blunt trauma to the back of the victim's head did not match his prints. Additionally, what is believed to be the murderer's DNA at the scene did not match Lurch's own. Currently, it is not known whether he will ever be eligible for parole.
In 2004, Stress Free Ent. and Black Market Records released a solo LP on behalf of Singleton, It's All Bad. Features included Killa Tay, C-Bo, Lil Keke, Roger Troutman II and Too $hort.
Ysais' mother, Carolyn Stinson, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Black Market Records, Singleton's record label. The label, in similar fashion, has put out albums for X-Raided while he was awaiting trial and eventually convicted of murder (Xorcist, Unforgiven, Vol. 1, etc.). The suit charged that the label had provided Singleton with drugs "to encourage [him] to act out in an extreme violent manner so as to make him more marketable as a 'gangsta rap' artist."[1] "Part of what makes a Gangsta Rap artist marketable is the fact that the artist is participant in violent activities," the lawsuit said.[1]
He is currently serving his life sentence at California State Prison, Los Angeles County in Lancaster, California. He has spent the last 4 of 5 years in solitary confinement. He was recently transferred to California State Prison, Sacramento (SAC).
Big Lurch was recently featured in the film Rhyme and Punishment, a 2011 documentary that chronicles hip-hop artists who have been incarcerated. In the film Lurch talks about his conviction and time in prison.