{{Short description|American rapper and convicted murderer}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Big Lurch | image = | caption = | birth_name = Antron Singleton | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1976|9|15}} | origin = Dallas, Texas, U.S. | genre = {{hlist|Southern hip-hop|gangsta rap|horrorcore}} | occupations = {{hlist|Rapper|poet}} | years_active = {{hlist|1996–2002}} | label = {{hlist|MCA|Blackmarket Records|}} | past_member_of = Cosmic Slop Shop }}
'''Antron Singleton Sr.''' (born September 15, 1976), better known by his stage name '''Big Lurch''', is an American former rapper and poet. He is serving a life sentence for murdering 21-year-old roommate Tynisha Ysais and eating parts of her body in April 2002. He was a member of the group Cosmic Slop Shop.
== Biography == Born on September 15, 1976, Singleton grew up in Dallas, Texas. He began writing poetry at age seven.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://allthatsinteresting.com/big-lurch| title=The Disturbing Crimes Of Big Lurch, The Rapper Who Murdered His Roommate And Ate Her Right Lung| website=All That's Interesting| date=February 2023}}</ref> Singleton started his rap career as a member of the hip-hop group Cosmic Slop Shop. The group fell apart in 1999, after releasing their album ''Da Family'' (1998), and Singleton pursued a solo career which was cut short in 2002, when he murdered his roommate Tynisha Ysais.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/the_most_grisly_murder_in_rap_history-150998| title=The Most Grisly Murder In Rap History| website=Ultimate Guitar}}</ref> He has been in prison for the crime, without the possibility of parole, since November 7, 2003.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.2111/title.big-lurch-sentenced-to-life| title=Big Lurch Sentenced to Life| website=hiphopdx| date=9 November 2003}}</ref> His only solo album, ''It's All Bad'', was released in 2004.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.iheart.com/content/2019-11-08-its-all-bad-the-horrifying-story-of-big-lurch-on-disgraceland/| title=It's All Bad: The Horrifying Story Of Big Lurch On Disgraceland| website=iHeart}}</ref>
== Murder and lawsuit == On April 10, 2002, 25-year-old Singleton murdered his 21-year-old roommate<ref name="LAT_2003-06-17"/> Tynisha Ysais in the apartment he shared with her and her boyfriend<ref name="LAT_2002-04-13">{{cite news|title=Rap Singer Held in Slaying of Roommate|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-apr-13-me-laantron13-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=April 13, 2002}}</ref> in Los Angeles, California.<ref name="LAT_2003-11-08" /><ref name="LAT_2002-05-30">{{cite news |last1=Kelleher |first1=Jennifer Sinco |title=Aspiring Texas Rapper to Stand Trial in Death of L.A. Woman |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-may-30-me-teeth30-story.html |access-date=August 18, 2018 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 30, 2002}}</ref>
The victim was found in her apartment at night by a friend.<ref name="LAT_2002-05-30"/> Her chest had been torn open and a three-inch blade was found broken off in her scapula. Teeth marks were found on her face and on her lungs, which had been torn from her chest. The friend testified that Singleton was naked and covered in blood, standing on the street and staring at the sky.<ref name="LAT_2002-05-30"/> A medical examination performed shortly after his capture found human flesh in his stomach that was not his own. The victim's boyfriend said he and Singleton used PCP the day before the murder took place.<ref name="LAT_2002-05-30"/>
On November 7, 2003, Singleton was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.<ref name="LAT_2003-11-08">{{cite news |last1=Malnic |first1=Eric |title=Man Gets Life for Woman's Murder |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-08-me-rapper8-story.html |access-date=August 18, 2018 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 8, 2003}}</ref> He had been convicted of murder and aggravated mayhem the previous June<ref name="LAT_2003-06-27">{{cite news|title=Jury to Consider Killer's Insanity Plea|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jun-27-me-briefs27.3-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=June 27, 2003 }}</ref> after pleading not guilty by reason of insanity at the time of the murder.<ref name="LAT_2003-06-17">{{cite news|title=Man Said Insane in Mutilation Killing|first=Akilah|last=Johnson|date=June 17, 2003|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jun-17-me-antron17-story.html}}</ref><ref name="LAT_2003-11-08"/> The defense argued that Singleton was in a psychotic state due to his use of PCP the night before the murder.<ref name="LAT_2003-11-08"/> The court ruled that his intoxication and claimed insanity were not satisfactory reasons for committing the crime.<ref name="LAT_2003-11-08"/> The district attorney argued that drug use can not be used as grounds for an insanity plea in California, and the judge agreed.<ref name="LAT_2003-11-08"/><ref>[https://law.justia.com/codes/california/2011/pen/part-1/25-29/25.5/ California Penal Code § 25.5] (1994) excludes substance abuse as a basis for an insanity defense, even if that abuse results in mental impairment that persists after the effects of the intoxicant are gone ([https://law.justia.com/cases/california/court-of-appeal/4th/72/421.html People v. Robinson], 1999). Neither voluntary intoxication nor settled insanity is a defense.</ref>
In 2003, Ysais' mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Singleton, his bodyguard, Stress Free Records, Death Row Records, and Ysais' boyfriend.<ref name="Billboard"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Weber |first1=Lara |last2=Morgan |first2=Michael |title=Lawsuit: 'Gangsta' image prompted woman's murder |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2003/04/14/lawsuit-gangsta-image-prompted-womans-murder/ |access-date=August 18, 2018 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=April 14, 2003 |language=en}}</ref> The suit charged that the labels 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."<ref name="BigLurch">{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/04/14/1050172509082.html |title=Rapper ate flesh for 'gangsta' image |agency=Reuters |work=The Age |publisher=Fairfax Media |date=April 14, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425162009/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/04/14/1050172509082.html |archive-date=25 April 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> "Part of what makes a Gangsta Rap artist marketable is the fact that the artist is a participant in violent activities," the lawsuit claimed.<ref name="BigLurch" /> Death Row protested it had no connection to Singleton and was dropped from the lawsuit.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Susman |first1=Gary |title=Suge Knight denies ties to accused cannibal rapper |url=https://ew.com/article/2003/04/15/suge-knight-denies-ties-accused-cannibal-rapper/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=August 18, 2018 |language=en |date=April 15, 2003}}</ref><ref name="Billboard">{{cite magazine |title=Tha Row Removed From Wrongful-Death Suit |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/71513/tha-row-removed-from-wrongful-death-suit |magazine=Billboard |access-date=August 18, 2018 |date=April 16, 2003}}</ref>
Singleton was interviewed for the 2011 documentary ''Rhyme and Punishment''.<ref>{{IMDb title|1311713|Rhyme and Punishment (2011)}}</ref>
He is currently incarcerated at California State Prison, Los Angeles County.<ref>[https://apps.cdcr.ca.gov/ciris/details?cdcrNumber=V24953 California Incarcerated Records & Information Search (CIRIS) - CDCR] (06/01/2024)</ref>
==Discography== {{Main|Big Lurch discography}}<!-- This section is only for studio albums - everything else goes in the discography article -->
*''Da Family'' <small>(with Cosmic Slop Shop)</small> (1998) *''It's All Bad'' (2004)
== See also ==
* List of incidents of cannibalism
== References == {{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Lurch}} Category:1976 births Category:2002 murders in the United States Category:Living people Category:21st-century American male rappers Category:20th-century American male rappers Category:20th-century American rappers Category:American cannibals Category:American people convicted of murder Category:American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Category:People convicted of murder by California Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by California Category:21st-century American murderers Category:Horrorcore artists Category:Rappers from Dallas Category:Gangsta rappers Category:21st-century American rappers Category:20th-century American male musicians Category:20th-century African-American musicians Category:21st-century African-American rappers Category:21st-century African-American male rappers