Big Pun

A graceful and nimble rapper who delivered his often clever, tongue-twisting rhymes at a torrential pace, Big Pun was the first solo Latino rapper to go platinum. Born Christopher Rios on November 10, 1971, Big Pun grew up in the South Bronx’s Puerto Rican community. He endured a rough childhood in an unstable home, and moved out when he was 15, by which point he had become interested in rapping and breakdancing. In 1989, under the name Big Moon Dog, he and several friends formed a street-corner rap group called the Full a Clips Crew. He later changed his name to Big Punisher, after the Marvel Comics superhero, and caught his big break when he met and impressed fellow Bronx rapper Fat Joe in 1995. He guested on a couple of Fat Joe tracks, “Fire Water” (which also featured Raekwon) and “Watch Out,” and following an appearance on Funkmaster Flex’s The Mix Tape, Vol. 1, quickly made a name for himself in the underground. He guested prominently on the Beatnuts’ “Off the Books” in 1997, and also worked with B Real and Flesh-N-Bone. Pun scored an underground hit of his own with “I’m Not a Player” in 1997, and also contributed “You Ain’t a Killer” to the Soul in the Hole basketball documentary. Helped by Fat Joe, Big Pun secured a deal with Loud Records. Pun’s solo debut, Capital Punishment, was released in 1998 and debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 thanks to “Still Not a Player,” a club-ready remix of “I’m Not a Player” that proved massively popular. Earning credibility in the hardcore rap world as well, Capital Punishment went on to sell over two million copies. The following year, Pun teamed up with his mentor, Fat Joe, and several up-and-coming MCs to form the Terror Squad, which released a self-titled debut album. Pun stayed in the public eye with guest work on records by Noreaga and Jennifer Lopez (the hit “Feelin’ So Good,” which also featured Fat Joe) while working on his second album. Tragically, Pun suffered a fatal heart attack on February 7, 2000. He was only 28 years old, and left behind a wife and three children. His completed second album, Yeeeah Baby, was released two months later to positive reviews and entered the Billboard 200 at number three. 2001′s Endangered Species was a compilation mixing hits, guest appearances, and unreleased material; it, too, was a Top Ten seller. Big Pun’s life was the subject of the 2002 documentary film Still Not a Player. ~ Steve Huey