Christopher Lee Rios better known by his
stage nameA stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Big Pun (short for
Big Punisher), was an American
rapperRapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
who emerged from the underground rap scene in
The BronxThe Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
in the late 1990s. He first appeared on albums from
The BeatnutsThe Beatnuts are a New York-based hip hop group and production duo from Queens, New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu is Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les is a Colombian American from Jackson Heights...
, on the track "Off the Books" in 1997, and on
Fat JoeJoseph Antonio Cartagena , better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper, CEO of Terror Squad Entertainment, and member of musical groups D.I.T.C. and Terror Squad....
's second album
Jealous One's EnvyJealous One's Envy is the second studio album by Fat Joe released in 1995. It fared well on the hip-hop charts.- Track listing :...
in 1995, on the track "Watch Out", prior to signing to
Loud RecordsLoud Records is a subsidiary of SRC Records founded by Steve Rifkind in 1992.Loud was a hip hop label which has released material by acts such as Wu-Tang Clan, Big Punisher, Mobb Deep, Krayzie Bone, The Beatnuts, M.O.P., Tha Alkaholiks, Pete Rock, Lil' Flip, Three 6 Mafia, Project Pat, Xzibit,...
as a solo artist. Pun's lyrics are notable for technical efficiency, having minimal pauses to take a breath, heavy use of alliteration as well as internal and multi-syllabic rhyming schemes. Big Pun died of a
heart attackMyocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
at age 28.
About.comAbout.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
ranked him #25 on its list of the 50 Greatest MCs of Our Time (1987 - 2007).
Early life
Big Pun grew up in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's
South BronxThe South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of The Bronx. The neighborhoods of Tremont, University Heights, Highbridge, Morrisania, Soundview, Hunts Point, and Castle Hill are sometimes considered part of the South Bronx....
neighborhood. At the age of 5 young Rios broke his leg while playing in a New York park, which would later lead to a large settlement from the city. By all accounts from Pun's family, his early years were very difficult, including witnessing his mother's
drug abuseSubstance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
, his father's death, and a stepfather who was very hard on Pun. According to his grandmother, Pun would become angry and self-destructive, punching holes in the walls of his family's apartment. Rios dropped out of high school and for some time was homeless staying in abandoned buildings or at friends' homes.
Music career
Sometime during the '80s, he began to write rap lyrics, forming the Full-A-Clips crew with Triple Seis, and Cuban Link who was at the time named "Lyrical Assassin". At this point Big Pun was operating under the alias Big Moon Dawg. Rios met fellow Puerto Rican and Bronx rapper Fat Joe in 1995 and made his commercial debut on Joe's second album, Jealous One's Envy, in addition to appearing on a b-side to Joe's "Envy" single, "Fire Water."
Later, "I'm Not a Player" (featuring an O'Jays sample) was supported by a significant
advertising campaignAn advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
and became an
undergroundUnderground music comprises a range of different musical genres that operate outside of mainstream culture. Such music can typically share common values, such as the valuing of sincerity and intimacy; an emphasis on freedom of creative expression; an appreciation of artistic creativity...
hit.
Capital Punishment
In 1997, producer
KnobodyJerome Foster, better known as Knobody, is an American music producer and A&R. Knobody has produced records across different genres including soul, R&B, hip hop and rock for several multi-platinum artists including Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, Akon, The Game, Big Pun, Mýa and R.E.M....
's production partner Sean C took advantage of his new role as A&R at
Loud RecordsLoud Records is a subsidiary of SRC Records founded by Steve Rifkind in 1992.Loud was a hip hop label which has released material by acts such as Wu-Tang Clan, Big Punisher, Mobb Deep, Krayzie Bone, The Beatnuts, M.O.P., Tha Alkaholiks, Pete Rock, Lil' Flip, Three 6 Mafia, Project Pat, Xzibit,...
to play Knobody's tracks to Big Pun. Suitably impressed the rapper hired Knobody to remix "
I'm Not a Player"I'm Not a Player" is the first Single from Rapper Big Punisher. It was produced by Minnesota and peaked at number 57 of the Billboard 100. It samples "Darlin' Darlin' Baby " by The O'Jays....
". The remixed song, featuring
JoeJoseph Lewis Thomas , usually credited simply as Joe, is an American R&B singer and record producer.-Early life:Joe is a native of Cuthbert, Georgia and later moved to Opelika, Alabama. The son of two preachers, Joe spent much time in church singing, playing guitar, and even directing the choir...
and titled "
Still Not a Player"Still Not a Player" is a hip-hop song, written and performed by Puerto Rican-American rapper Big Punisher , produced by Knobody and featuring singer Joe. It was featured on his 1998 debut album Capital Punishment....
," became Big Pun's first major mainstream hit and major breakthrough for Knobody. The full-length debut
Capital PunishmentCapital Punishment is the solo debut album by rapper Big Pun, released on April 28, 1998. The album received critical acclaim, and Big Pun became the first solo Latino rapper to go Platinum. The album peaked at #5 on on the Billboard 200 charts and #1 on the Top R&B Albums chart for two weeks...
followed in 1998, and became the first album by a solo Latino rapper to go
platinumIn the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
, peaking at #5 on the
Billboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
.
Capital Punishment was also nominated for a Grammy, but lost out on the award to
Jay-Z'sShawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life.
Terror Squad
Big Pun became a member of
Terror SquadTerror Squad is an American hip hop collective that was first established in 1998. Based in The Bronx borough of New York City, the members of Terror Squad collectively debuted on a song in member Fat Joe's album Don Cartagena...
, a New York-based group of rappers founded by
Fat JoeJoseph Antonio Cartagena , better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper, CEO of Terror Squad Entertainment, and member of musical groups D.I.T.C. and Terror Squad....
, with most of the roster supplied by the now-defunct Full a Clips Crew who released their debut album The Album in 1999. The album didn't fare well commercially but it was well received critically and the album was meant to start the foundation for all other terror squad members to release their solo projects.
Death
Excluding his
adolescenceAdolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
, Big Pun struggled with his weight for most of his life; his weight fluctuated in the early 1990s between
obeseObesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
and morbidly obese. Big Pun enrolled in a weight-loss program in North Carolina, in which he lost 80 pounds (36.3 kg), but he eventually quit the program before completing it, returning to New York and gaining back the weight he had lost. On February 7, 2000, Big Pun suffered a fatal heart attack and respiratory failure while temporarily staying with family at a
Crowne Plaza HotelCrowne Plaza is a chain of full service, upscale hotels catering to business travelers and to the meetings and conventions market. It forms part of the InterContinental Hotels Group family of brands, which include InterContinental and Holiday Inn and operates in 52 countries, usually located in...
in
White Plains, New YorkWhite Plains is a city and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in south-central Westchester, about east of the Hudson River and northwest of Long Island Sound...
during a home renovation. Pun was pronounced dead at the hospital after paramedics could not revive him. Big Pun was at his highest weight at the time of his death, being 698 pounds. He was cremated a few days later. His second album,
Yeeeah BabyYeeeah Baby is the second solo and final studio album by rapper Big Pun. In the wake of Big Pun's death in February 2000, it was posthumously released in April of the same year as planned, peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 charts, and subsequently was certified Gold...
, was released two months later.
Big Pun: The Legacy documentary
An authorized documentary "Big Pun: The Legacy" was released on September 15, 2009. The film contains multiple interviews with artists, actors, close friends and others whose lives were touched by Big Pun, as well as rare exclusive performances and scene interviews with Big Pun himself. The film also features appearances by
Bone Thugs-n-HarmonyBone Thugs-N-Harmony is an American Hip-Hop/R'n'B band from Cleveland, Ohio formed in 1991. It originally consisted of rappers Layzie Bone, Flesh-n-Bone, Bizzy Bone, Krayzie Bone, and Wish Bone. Rapper Eazy-E of the group N.W.A signed Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to Ruthless Records in 1994, when Bone...
,
Snoop DoggCalvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
,
DMXEarl Simmons , better known by his stage name DMX, is a multiplatinum American rapper and actor who rose to fame in the late 1990s. His stage name pays tribute to the Oberheim DMX drum machine, an instrument he used when he made his own rap beats in the 80's...
,
Method ManClifford Smith , better known by his stage name Method Man is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man...
,
U-GodLamont Hawkins , better known as U-God , is an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective, Wu-Tang Clan. He has been with the group since its inception, and is known for having a deep, rhythmic flow that can alternate between being gruff or smooth...
, Liza Rios,
XzibitAlvin Nathaniel Joiner , better known by his stage name Xzibit , is an American rapper, actor, and television host. He is known as the host of the MTV show Pimp My Ride, which brought him mainstream success...
,
Cuban LinkFelix Delgado , better known by his stage name Cuban Link, is a Cuban rapper.-Biography:Delgado was born in Havana, Cuba in 1974. He and his family emigrated to the United States in 1980 and settled in the Morrisania section of the South Bronx neighborhood of New York City...
,
Swizz BeatzKasseem Dean , better known by his stage name, Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, DJ, rapper and painter. At the age of 17, he gained attention in the hip-hop world through his friendship with rapper DMX. Grady Spivey and rapper Cassidy helped launch his label Full Surface Records...
,
DJ SkribbleDJ Skribble is an Italian-American DJ, producer, remixer, radio personality and actor.In the early 1990s he teamed up with Kamron, ATA, Firstborn, and Tommy Never in Young Black Teenagers, who released two albums before splitting up.In 1996 he worked with Bill Irwin on the musical Hip Hop Wonderland...
,
Chino XLDerek Keith Barbosa , better known by his stage name Chino XL, is an American hip hop lyricist, battle rapper, and actor of Puerto Rican and African American descent...
and many more. The film was directed by Vlad Yudin and was distributed through Vivendi/Universal.
A different version of the
DVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
"Big Pun: The Legacy," was released called "Big Pun: The Legacy (Special Collector's Edition)" a little over a year later on September 28, 2010 through EMI Label Group. This film includes never-before-seen footage and the “Lost Files” archive.
The soundtrack to the film, "The Legacy: The Best of Big Pun" was released through Legacy/Columbia Records/Sony Music on September 15, 2009.
Family
Big Pun met his wife Liza in the eighth grade. They had three children together. The youngest one is carrying on his father's legacy under the alias
Baby Pun who started to write rhymes after his father's death.
In 2002, Pun's widow, Liza Rios, released a documentary about her late husband, Still Not a Player. The film features commentary from many of Pun's close friends and family members, details the struggles with his weight, and also reveals how at times, Pun would become physically abusive with his wife - in one scene, he is caught on camera while pistol whipping her. The release of the documentary and its content caused a falling out between Fat Joe and Rios, as Rios repeatedly claimed to have not received any royalties from the sales of Endangered Species, which was where the proceeds from that album's sales were designed to go.
In 2009, the E! network released a feature called 'The secret lives of women in hip-hop'. Big Pun's wife and children stated on the show that she was a victim of physical abuse. The show contained video of Big Pun pistol whipping his wife at home. Big Pun's wife stated:
The day that [Big Pun] died it was the best and the worst day of my life, the worst day because I lost a part of me. I lost my husband. I lost my friend. I lost my kids’ father. I lost everything, but then it was a best day of my life because all the abuse, all the pain, all the crying, it was over. That was it. It was done.”
Legal issues
On September 8, 1998,
Fat JoeJoseph Antonio Cartagena , better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper, CEO of Terror Squad Entertainment, and member of musical groups D.I.T.C. and Terror Squad....
and Big Pun were arrested on assault charges for hitting a man with a baseball bat and stealing the man's gold chain on June 14 that year.
Studio albums
- 1998: Capital Punishment
Capital Punishment is the solo debut album by rapper Big Pun, released on April 28, 1998. The album received critical acclaim, and Big Pun became the first solo Latino rapper to go Platinum. The album peaked at #5 on on the Billboard 200 charts and #1 on the Top R&B Albums chart for two weeks...
- 2000: Yeeeah Baby
Yeeeah Baby is the second solo and final studio album by rapper Big Pun. In the wake of Big Pun's death in February 2000, it was posthumously released in April of the same year as planned, peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 charts, and subsequently was certified Gold...
Filmography
- Moesha
Moesha is an American sitcom series that aired on the UPN network from January 23, 1996 to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in the Leimert Park neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles.-Overview:The show...
(1998) – Himself (as Big Punisher)
- Thicker Than Water
Thicker Than Water is a 1999 film starring a host of rappers and urban entertainers such as Fat Joe, Mack 10, Ice Cube, MC Eiht, and others. The film contains rappers from both the East and the West Coast, as it was made after the end of the East Coast-West Coast feud.-Cast:*Mack 10 as DJ*Fat Joe...
(1999) – Punny
- Urban Menace
Urban Menace is a 1999 direct-to-video horror film directed by Albert Pyun and starring Snoop Dogg, Big Pun, Ice-T and Fat Joe. While the rappers in the movie shot their parts in New York, the actors of the movie filmed in Central and Eastern Europe in abandoned buildings...
(1999) – Crow
- Whiteboyz (1999) – Don Flip Crew (uncredited)
- Boricua's Bond (2000) – Himself (as Big Punisher)
- Still Not a Player (2002) – Himself (archive footage)
- Big Pun Live (2002) – Himself (archive footage)
- Big Pun: The Legacy (2009) – Himself (archive footage)
- Big Pun: The Legacy (Special Collector's Edition) (2010) - Himself (archive footage)
External links