Crawford was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Pattonville High School in Maryland Heights, Missouri, where he graduated in 1986. As a child, he struggled with his weight, experienced near-drowning at age ten, and was abandoned by his father, a bodybuilder.

Crawford frequently performed on BET’s ComicView in the ’90s. Lavell was a contestant on NBC’s Last Comic Standing in 2007, where in the two-hour season finale he lost to Jon Reep. In 2011 at the Roberts Orpheum Theatre in St. Louis, he recorded Lavell Crawford: Can a Brother Get Some Love. He went on to appear on the crime drama series Breaking Bad as Saul Goodman’s bodyguard Huell Babineaux and on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia as a garbageman posing as a stand-up comedian going by the stage name Landslide. He also appeared in an episode of Tosh.0, where he helps “the worst stand-up comedian” redeem himself. Crawford reprised the role of Babineaux in Huell’s Rules, a comedy short film set after the events of Breaking Bad, but not considered canon. He has a small supporting role in the 2015 film American Ultra. Crawford has made multiple appearances on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore in 2015, both as a special correspondent and as a panel member. On Adult Swim, Crawford made a guest appearance in Aqua TV Show Show as Unbelievable Ron and a chimp alien. He also made a celebrity guest appearance in Squidbillies, as well as Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell. In 2016, Crawford dropped up to 120 pounds (54 kg) in weight. In 2017, he appeared on Better Call Saul, reprising his role as Huell Babineaux from Breaking Bad. Crawford also appears in J-Kwon’s “Tipsy” music video. He was also featured in the Comedy Central program Workaholics as the character Tyrone.